JP2001253148A - Ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink-jet printer which can prevent a useless printing operation when ink is used up in the middle of printing. SOLUTION: This ink-jet printer 1 detects a quantity of the ink remaining in an ink cartridge 20 set to a body, and counts and displays the number of printable sheets to a display part 5. A user who is to print a plurality of the number of sheets can simply judge whether or not the ink is used up in the middle of the printing, and therefore the useless printing operation because of the lack of the ink in the middle of the printing can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer for printing characters and images on paper by spraying ink in an ink cartridge set in a main body onto the paper, and more particularly to an ink jet printer in an ink cartridge. The present invention relates to an inkjet printer that outputs a printable number calculated using a remaining amount.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink in an ink cartridge set in a main body is sprayed on a sheet of paper to a printer used for printing documents and images produced by an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. There has been an ink jet printer that prints characters and images on the paper. Inkjet printers cannot print when the ink in the ink cartridge set in the main unit becomes empty, so it is necessary to provide a function to detect and output the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge and let the user recognize the remaining amount of ink. Has been proposed. The remaining ink amount is displayed on a display unit provided in the main body or on a display screen of an information processing device connected to the main body.

In addition, the detection of the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge set in the main body is performed by a method of accumulating the amount of ink (use amount) blown from the ink cartridge, or by detecting the amount of ink in the ink cartridge by light. A method using a sensor or the like is well known.

[0004]

However, the conventional ink jet printer merely informs the user of the remaining amount of ink. On the other hand, most users cannot recognize how much printing can be performed (how many sheets can be printed) even if the remaining amount of ink can be recognized. Therefore, in the conventional inkjet printer,
When printing a plurality of sheets, the user cannot determine whether or not the ink is lost during printing and printing cannot be performed. For this reason, after starting printing of a plurality of sheets, there is a problem that ink runs out during printing, and a useless printing operation (a printing operation after a page where ink has run out) is executed.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46493 discloses that
Although an image forming apparatus that displays the number of documents that can be sorted is shown, an ink jet printer that outputs the number of printable sheets with respect to the remaining amount of ink in an ink cartridge set in the main body has not been proposed so far.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to output the number of printable sheets with respect to the remaining amount of ink in an ink cartridge set in a main body, thereby preventing the ink from running out during printing and executing a useless printing operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer capable of performing the above.

[0007]

An ink jet printer according to the present invention has the following arrangement to solve the above-mentioned problems.

(1) Based on the input print data,
In an ink jet printer that sprays ink in an ink cartridge set in the main body onto a sheet and prints characters and images on the sheet, while detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge set in the main body, A printable sheet number calculating means for calculating the printable sheet number with respect to the detected remaining amount of ink, and an output means for outputting the printable sheet number calculated by the printable sheet number calculating means are provided.

(2) The printable number calculating means is means for calculating the printable number for each of a plurality of paper sizes.

(3) The printable number calculating means calculates the printable number for each of a plurality of print data having different print ratios of characters to be printed on paper.

(4) The output means has means for displaying the number of printable sheets.

(5) There is provided storage means for accumulatively storing the amount of ink used in the ink cartridge set in the main body, and the printable number calculating means calculates the amount of ink used from the amount of ink stored in the storage means. The ink remaining amount is detected.

(6) The ink cartridge contains a plurality of colors of ink, and the printable number calculating means calculates the printable number of inks of the color having the smallest remaining ink amount.

(7) The output means has means for outputting the color of the ink used for calculating the number of printable sheets.

(8) A plurality of the ink cartridges are set in the main body, and the printable number calculating means is means for calculating the printable number for each ink cartridge set in the main body.

In the above arrangement, the printable sheet number calculating means detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge,
The number of printable sheets corresponding to the detected remaining amount of ink is calculated, and the calculated number of printable sheets is output by the output unit.

As described above, instead of directly outputting the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge set in the main body, the number of printable sheets with respect to the remaining amount of ink is calculated and output. Whether only printing can be performed can be quantitatively recognized. Therefore, when printing is performed on a plurality of sheets, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during printing and to perform a useless printing operation.

Further, since the amount of ink used for printing one sheet varies depending on the sheet size, the number of printable sheets is calculated and output for each of a plurality of sheet sizes.

Further, even for paper of the same size, the amount of ink used for printing differs depending on the ratio of characters included in print data. Specifically, the larger the number of images, the larger the amount of ink used as the print data. Here, the number of printable sheets is calculated and output also for print data having different ratios of characters included in the print data.

It is also possible to calculate and output the number of printable sheets for print data having different ratios of images included in the print data.

Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the ink runs out during the printing of the print data to be printed.

The number of printable sheets can be displayed on a display unit provided in the main body, or can be displayed on an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer in which print data has been prepared.

Further, by storing the used amount of ink in a cumulative manner, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge can be accurately detected.

Further, among ink jet printers capable of performing full-color printing, there is a type in which a single ink cartridge containing three color inks of yellow, magenta and cyan is set in a main body. If even one of the three inks disappears, full-color printing cannot be performed (printing cannot be performed if appropriate). The number of printable sheets is calculated using the ink of the color with the least amount of ink remaining.

Further, since the color of the ink used for calculating the number of printable sheets is also output, the user can recognize the color of the ink having a small remaining amount.

Further, among ink jet printers capable of performing full-color printing, there is a type in which a single ink cartridge containing yellow, magenta, and cyan inks and a black ink cartridge are set in the main body. . In such an ink jet printer, if the number of printable sheets is output for each ink cartridge, it is possible to recognize whether or not ink runs out during printing for each ink cartridge.

[0027]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment includes a control unit 2 for controlling the operation of the main body, an input / output unit 3 connected to an information processing device such as a personal computer, and a document or image on paper based on the input print data. And a display unit 5 for displaying the number of printable sheets, which will be described later.
And The ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment is a printer for monochrome printing in which an ink cartridge containing black ink is set. The input / output unit 3 receives print data from an information processing device such as a personal computer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing unit. The printing section 4 is provided with a paper transport path 13 for taking in the sheets set in the paper supply section 11 one by one into the main body and discharging the paper to the paper discharge section 12. Paper feed unit 11 to paper discharge unit 12
Multiple paper feed rollers (not shown)
Is provided. In addition, the ink cartridge 20
The width direction of the paper being conveyed (perpendicular to the paper surface)
Is set on a carrier (not shown) that reciprocates. As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 20 is provided with a print head 21 having a plurality of nozzles 21a formed on the bottom surface. The printing unit 4 includes the nozzle 21 specified by the control unit 2.
The ink is sprayed on the paper conveyed from a, and characters and images are printed on the paper.

Further, the control unit 2 is provided with a RAM, in which the amount of ink used for printing per sheet is set for each print type. Here, the print type is print data classified according to the paper size and the ratio of characters included in the print data. In particular,
For each of the three types of paper sizes A4, A5, and postcards, ink amounts X1, X2, and X3 used for printing of print data consisting of only characters are composed of print data consisting of characters (50%) and images (50%). Ink amounts Y1, Y2, Y3 used for printing The ink amounts Z1, Z2, Z3 used for printing the print data consisting of only the image are stored (see FIG. 4A). Note that the above X1
X3, Y1 to Y3, and Z1 to Z3 are average ink usage amounts, not ink amounts used for actual printing. The RAM also stores the total amount of ink A stored in unused ink cartridges 20, the amount of ink B blown out from the nozzles 21a each time, and the plurality of nozzles 21a of the ink cartridge 20 set in the main body. The total number of ejections C from which ink has been ejected from is stored (see FIG. 4B). The total number of blowouts C
Is incremented each time ink is blown out from an arbitrary nozzle 21 as will be described later. By using the total number of times C, the amount of ink actually used can be calculated.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ink jet printer of this embodiment. When the power is turned on, the inkjet printer 1 of this embodiment executes a printable number calculation process of calculating the printable number for each print type (s1). Specifically, for each of the three types of paper sizes A4, A5, and postcard, the printable number of print data consisting of characters only The printable number of print data consisting of characters (50%) and images (50%) The printable number of print data consisting only of print data is calculated.

For example, the printable number Xa of A4 size print data consisting of only characters is Xa = (A−B * C)
/ X1 and the printable number of print data Ya of A4 size, consisting of characters (50%) and images (50%)
Is calculated as Ya = (A−B * C) / Y1, and the printable number of print data Za of the A4 size print data consisting of only an image
Is calculated by Za = (A−B * C) / Z1.

The other sheet sizes are calculated similarly.

After calculating the printable number of sheets for each print type, the inkjet printer 1 performs a display process of displaying the calculated printable number of sheets for each print type on the display unit 5 in a tabular form (s2). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the display unit. With this display, the user can easily recognize the printable number of sheets for each print type. Therefore, when printing a plurality of sheets, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the ink runs out during printing. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during printing and to perform a useless printing operation. In addition, since the number of printable sheets is displayed for each print type, the user can appropriately make the above determination in accordance with print data to be printed.

When a print request is received from an information processing device such as a personal computer connected to the input / output unit 3 (s3), the ink jet printer 1 executes a printing process (s5). The control unit 2 performs the printing process of s5,
Each time the printing unit 4 is instructed to jet ink to the plurality of nozzles 21a of the ink cartridge 20, the total number of jets C stored in the RAM shown in FIG. 4B is incremented. That is, every time ink is blown out from any of the nozzles 21a, the total number of blowouts C is incremented. The inkjet printer 1
When the printing process of s4 is completed, the process returns to s1 and the above process is repeated. When the power is turned off, the process ends (s4).

As described above, in the ink jet printer 1 according to this embodiment, the user is made to recognize the number of printable sheets for each print type. Therefore, even when printing a plurality of sheets, whether or not ink runs out during printing is determined. Can be easily determined by the user. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during printing after the start of printing on a plurality of sheets, thereby preventing unnecessary printing operation.

In the above embodiment, the number of printable sheets for each print type is displayed on the display unit 5 provided in the ink jet printer 1, but is displayed on the display screen of the information processing apparatus connected to the input / output unit 3. You may make it do.
In this case, display data may be transmitted from the input / output unit 3 to the information processing device.

The total number C of blowouts stored in the RAM can be reset by performing a predetermined operation. Therefore, the ink cartridge 20
When the ink cartridge 20 is replaced, the predetermined operation is performed to reset the total number C of blowouts, so that the remaining ink amount can be accurately detected even after the ink cartridge 20 is replaced.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The ink jet printer 1 according to this embodiment includes:
This is an ink jet printer in which an ink cartridge 20 containing three color inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan is set and full color printing can be performed. Since the configuration of the printing unit is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 2, the description is omitted here.

The RAM provided in the control unit 2 of the ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment also stores ink amounts X'1 to X'3, Y'1 to Y'3,
Z′1 to Z′3 are stored (see FIG. 7A).
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the amounts of ink used for the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are the same for printing in the same print type. That is, the amount of yellow, magenta, and cyan ink used for printing only a document with a paper size of A4 is the same X′1. The RAM stores the total ink amounts A'Y, A'M, A'C, and the nozzles 21a for each ink.
Ink amounts B′Y, B′M,
B′C and the total number of times C′Y, C′M, and C′C that ink has actually been ejected from the nozzle 21a of the ink cartridge 20 set in the main body are stored (see FIG. 7B). .

The ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment
Also performs substantially the same processing as the ink jet printer 1 of the above-described embodiment, but when calculating the printable number of sheets for each print type, printing is performed using the remaining amount of ink of the color with the smallest remaining amount of ink. The difference is that the possible number is calculated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, among the three color inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, the ink having the smallest remaining amount of ink is detected, and printing is performed for each print type using the remaining amount of ink. The possible number is calculated (s10, s11). The number of printable sheets for each print type calculated in s11 is displayed on the display unit 5 (s12) (see FIG. 9). The display unit 5 also displays the color of the ink used for calculating the printable number of sheets. This allows the user to recognize the color of the ink with the smallest remaining amount.

In the printing process of s5, every time the control unit 2 instructs the printing unit 4 to eject ink from the nozzles 21a of the ink cartridge 20, the control unit 2 shown in FIG.
For the ink of the corresponding color stored in the RAM shown in (B), the total number of blowouts C′Y, C′M, C′C is incremented.

Therefore, the ink jet printer 1 of this embodiment has the same effects as those of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

Further, a full-color ink jet printer has been proposed in which an ink cartridge 20 containing yellow, magenta, and cyan inks and an ink cartridge 20 containing black ink are set. Combines the above two embodiments,
The number of printable sheets may be calculated for each ink cartridge 20, and one of the screens shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 may be displayed. In this case, it is sufficient that the two screens can be switched by a predetermined key operation.

In the above embodiment, the number of printable sheets for each print type is calculated when the power is turned on or after the printing process is completed. However, these processes are executed when the user performs a predetermined operation. You may do so.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can always recognize the number of printable sheets that can be printed with the ink cartridge set in the main body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during printing after the start of printing a plurality of sheets, thereby preventing a useless printing operation from being performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a printing unit in the ink jet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating nozzles provided on a lower surface of the ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing data used when the ink jet printer of this embodiment calculates the number of prints for each print type.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen on which the number of prints is displayed for each print type.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing data used when the inkjet printer of another embodiment of the present invention calculates the number of prints for each print type.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the ink jet printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display screen on which the number of prints is displayed for each print type.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-inkjet printer 2-control unit 3-input / output unit 4-printing unit 5-display unit 20-ink cartridge 21-print head 21a-nozzle

Claims (8)

[Claims] An ink jet printer that sprays ink in an ink cartridge set in a main body on paper based on input print data and prints characters and images on the paper. Means for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge and calculating the number of printable sheets for the detected remaining amount of ink, and output means for outputting the number of printable sheets calculated by the printable number of sheets calculation means And an inkjet printer comprising: 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein said printable number calculating means calculates the printable number for each of a plurality of paper sizes. 3. The ink-jet printer according to claim 1, wherein said printable sheet number calculating means calculates a printable sheet number for each of a plurality of print data having different print ratios of characters to be printed on paper. Printer. 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein said output means has means for displaying the number of printable sheets. 5. A printing apparatus, comprising: storage means for accumulatively storing an ink usage amount in an ink cartridge set in a main body; wherein said printable sheet number calculation means calculates the ink usage amount based on the ink usage amount stored in the storage means. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the remaining amount of the ink is detected. 6. An ink cartridge containing a plurality of colors of ink, wherein said printable number calculating means calculates the printable number of inks of the color having the smallest remaining amount of ink.
5. The inkjet printer according to any one of 5. 7. The ink jet printer according to claim 6, wherein said output means includes means for outputting the color of the ink used for calculating the number of printable sheets. 8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the ink cartridges are set in the main body, and the printable number calculating means calculates the printable number for each ink cartridge set in the main body. The inkjet printer according to any one of the above.