JP7066815B2 - Printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus .

The information processing apparatus is known to have a function of detecting the insertion of a paper cassette and automatically displaying a registration screen of the paper cassette. In Patent Document 1, the paper type setting target cassette is determined from the open / closed state of the cassette and the presence or absence of paper in the cassette.

JP-A-2004-34711

However, in Patent Document 1, in a device in which a paper cassette information setting screen is displayed when a paper cassette is inserted, if the same paper cassette is inserted and removed again while the registration screen for a certain paper cassette is being displayed, the registration screen is displayed again. Is displayed. When the user is operating the registration screen, the same paper cassette registration screen is newly displayed on the screen being operated, which reduces usability.

In addition, when there are multiple paper cassettes, and when different paper cassettes are continuously inserted and removed while the registration screen of a certain paper cassette is displayed, the registration screen for multiple paper cassettes is displayed each time the paper cassette is inserted or removed. It will appear alternately, and user usability will deteriorate.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to improve usability when setting information on a recording medium.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing apparatus according to the present invention performs a user operation on the first paper unit, a second paper unit different from the first paper unit, and the first paper unit for setting paper. Based on this, the first screen is displayed on the display unit as the screen related to the paper setting of the first paper unit, and the second screen is displayed as the screen related to the paper setting of the second paper unit based on the user operation for the second paper unit. Is provided on the display unit, and the display control means is provided by the user in a state where the second screen is displayed based on a user operation on the second paper unit. Is operated, the first screen is displayed based on the operation, and further, when the first screen disappears based on a user instruction for a predetermined item in the first screen, the second paper unit is displayed. The second screen is displayed without going through a new user operation .

According to the present invention, usability when setting information on a recording medium can be improved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the appearance of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the paper transport part of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart of the paper feed cassette detection handler of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting screen of the paper information in the display process which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the display process which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a flowchart of the display process which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a figure explaining the user operation and the screen display in the control of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is another figure explaining the user operation and the screen display in the control of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the user operation and the screen display in the control of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the priority setting screen in the display process which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the priority table in the display process which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a flowchart of the display process which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a figure which shows an example of the stack table in the display process which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the priority table in the display process which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the paper transport part which concerns on other embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The relative arrangement of each component of the apparatus used in this embodiment, the shape of the apparatus, and the like are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the appearance of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a MultiFunction Printer (MFP) having a reading function (scanner) will be described as an example as a printing device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, it has only a printing function. You may.

In FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 includes a document base 101, a document lid 102, a plurality of paper cassettes (paper cassette 1, paper cassette 2), and a paper output tray 105.

The document table 101 is a transparent glass-like table, which is used when a document is placed and read by a scanner. The document lid 102 is a lid for preventing the scanning light from leaking to the outside when scanning with a scanner, and is configured to cover the document table 101. Each paper cassette (paper cassette 103, paper cassette 104) can set paper of various sizes and paper types. The paper loaded in the paper cassettes 103 to 104 is conveyed to the printing unit one by one, and when the printing unit prints, the paper is ejected from the output tray 105. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a device equipped with two paper cassettes has been described as an example, but the number of paper cassettes may be one or more, and only one. May be 3 or more.

Further, the printing method is not limited to printing an image by an inkjet method using a liquid ink for image printing, which will be described later. Solid ink may be used as the recording agent, and various methods such as an electrophotographic method using toner and a sublimation method can be adopted. Further, the color recording is not limited to the one using a recording agent of a plurality of colors, and the monochrome recording may be performed only in black (including gray). Further, printing is not limited to printing a visible image, but may be printing of an image that is invisible or difficult to see, and is not a general image, for example, a wiring pattern, a physical pattern in manufacturing parts, or a DNA base. It may be used for printing various things such as printing an array. That is, it can be applied to various types of printing devices as long as the recording agent can be applied to the recording material.

Further, in the present embodiment, paper will be described as an example as the recording medium, but the material of the recording medium is not limited to paper, and various materials that can be printed can be used.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an internal configuration of a printing mechanism portion in the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The printing device 100 has a paper feed cassette 201, a paper feed cassette 202, and a paper output tray 203, and corresponds to the paper feed cassette 103, the paper feed cassette 104, and the paper output tray 105 of FIG. 1, respectively. Further, the printing apparatus 100 has a printing head 212, a carriage 213, and a guide rail 214 as a printing unit.

The recording paper S1 loaded on the paper feed cassette 201 is picked up by the paper feed roller 204 driven by a transfer motor (not shown), fed between the transfer rollers 205 and the transfer rollers 206, and conveyed by the transfer rollers 205 and 206. Will be done. The recording paper S2 conveyed by the transfer roller 205 and the transfer roller 206 is conveyed in a U-turn by a transfer path including the sheet transfer guide 207 and the sheet transfer guide 208, and is transmitted to the transfer roller 209 and the transfer roller 210. Although not shown, a paper feed roller is provided so that the recording paper laminated on the paper feed cassette 202 can be picked up, and a transport roller is provided so that the picked up recording paper can be conveyed. As a result, the recording paper stacked on the paper feed cassette 202 is picked up and conveyed to the transport path.

Further, the recording paper S2 is conveyed on the platen 211. A carriage 213 on which the print head 212 is mounted is provided at a position facing the platen 211 with the recording paper S2 interposed therebetween. The carriage 213 is reciprocated along the guide rail 214 by a carriage motor (not shown). A recorded image is formed on the recording paper S2 by applying a drive pulse to the print head 212. The recording paper S2 on which the image is formed is further conveyed by the transfer roller 209, the output roller 215 and the output roller 216 provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction from the transfer roller 210, and is discharged to the output tray 203. Will be done. The recording paper S2 on which the image is formed, that is, the printed recording paper S2 is laminated on the output tray 203.

The carriage 213 is provided with a paper sensor 218, and can detect whether or not the recording paper S2 is present on the platen 211. The paper sensor 218 is composed of, for example, a reflection type optical sensor, and can perform the above-mentioned detection by acquiring the output level of the paper sensor 218. In the present embodiment, since the paper sensor 218 is provided on the carriage 213, the paper of the recording paper S2 conveyed on the platen 211 is obtained by acquiring the output level of the paper sensor 218 while moving the carriage 213. The end position can be detected.

Further, the paper cassette 201 and the paper cassette 202 are provided with a cassette sensor 219 and a cassette sensor 220, respectively, and can detect that the paper cassette has been inserted or removed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The printing device 100 has a CPU 301, a program memory 303, and a data memory 304. Further, the printing device 100 includes an interface control circuit 307, a motor control circuit 309, a head control circuit 313, a sensor control circuit 314, a panel control circuit 317, a memory card control circuit 321 and a scanner control circuit 324. These are connected via the internal bus 302.

The CPU 301 is a central processing unit in the form of a microprocessor (microcomputer), and controls the operation of the entire printing device 100 by executing a program or starting hardware. The program memory 303 is a ROM, and stores a program for execution by the CPU 301 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the printing apparatus 100. The data memory 304 is composed of RAM, is used as a work area of the CPU 301, is used as a temporary storage area for various received data, and stores various setting data. The data memory 304 is used for applications such as a work memory 305 used by the CPU 301 to execute a control program, and an image memory 306 for storing image data formed on recording paper.

The CPU 301 can control the interface control circuit 307, receive job data to be printed from the host computer 308 connected via the external interface, and notify the host computer 308 of the status of the printing device.

The CPU 301 can control various motors that drive the mechanism of the printing apparatus 100 via the motor control circuit 309. The transport motor 310 drives the paper feed roller 203, the paper feed roller 205, 206, 209, 210, and the paper ejection rollers 215, 216 to transport the recording paper from the paper feed tray to the paper output tray 203. The carriage motor 311 (referred to as a CR motor in FIG. 3) reciprocates the carriage 213. The recovery motor 312 drives the head recovery mechanism and controls it in synchronization with the drive of the carriage 213 to execute a recovery operation for properly maintaining the state of the print head 212.

The CPU 301 can control the print head 212 via the head control circuit 313. An image is formed on the recording paper by controlling the print head 212 in synchronization with the reciprocating operation of the carriage 213.

The CPU 301 can control the sensor light source 315 of the paper sensor 218 and acquire the output voltage of the optical sensor 316 of the paper sensor 218 via the sensor control circuit 314. Further, the CPU 301 can control various cassette sensors via the sensor control circuit 314. The cassette sensor 219 for the paper cassette 1 and the cassette sensor 220 for the paper cassette 2 are composed of, for example, a photo interrupter and a mechanical switch. Each cassette sensor detects that the user has inserted or removed the paper feed cassette into the printing device 100, and the CPU 301 can acquire the detection via the sensor control circuit 314.

The CPU 301 controls the operation panel 318 provided on the outer surface of the printing apparatus 100 via the panel control circuit 317. The operation panel 318 has, for example, a hard key group 319 and a display device 320. The panel control circuit 317 can display desired information on the display device 320 arranged on the operation panel 318, and can monitor the user's operation on the hard key group 319 also on the operation panel 318. ..

The CPU 301 can control the scanner 325 (not shown in FIG. 1) via the scanner control circuit 324, and can read the original image placed on the platen of the scanner 325.

The CPU 301 can read and write various files in the memory card 323 installed in the memory card slot 322 provided on the outer surface of the printing device 100 via the memory card control circuit 321. The image read by the scanner 325 can be stored in the image memory 306 in the data memory 304 and then sent to the host computer 308 or saved as an image file in the memory card 323. Further, the image read by the scanner 325 can be used as a copy function by controlling the printing mechanism as it is and printing it.

Here, the control when detecting that the paper feed cassette is inserted into the printing apparatus 100 and displaying the setting screen of the corresponding paper information (recording medium information) will be described. Based on the paper information set on the setting screen, various operations of the printing apparatus, for example, printing control, transport control, and the like are executed.

The CPU 301 of the printing apparatus 100 executes the paper feed cassette detection process at a predetermined cycle by using the cycle handler of the real-time OS in the program memory 303. The cycle for executing the paper cassette detection process is predetermined, and a sufficient time is set for controlling by inserting and removing the paper cassette. In the present embodiment, the cycle is set to 300 ms, but the cycle is not limited to this. When the insertion of the paper cassette is detected by the cassette sensor 219 or 220, the detection is notified to the panel task of the CPU that controls the operation panel 318. In the present embodiment, since there are a plurality of paper cassettes, this process is performed for each paper cassette, and insertion of different paper cassettes is detected separately.

The paper cassette detection process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow of processing in which the CPU 301 loads the program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes the program. The paper cassette detection process shown in FIG. 4 is performed every cycle. When the paper cassette detection process is started, S401 determines whether or not the insertion of the cassette 1 has been detected. If it is determined that the insertion of the cassette 1 is detected, the CPU 301 is notified of the cassette insertion (S402), and the process proceeds to S403. If the insertion of the cassette 1 is not detected, the process proceeds to S403 as it is. In S403, it is determined whether or not the insertion of the cassette 2 is detected. When it is determined that the insertion of the cassette 2 is detected, the panel task is notified of the insertion of the cassette (S404), and the process is terminated. If the insertion of the cassette 1 is not detected, the process ends. In this way, when the insertion of the cassette 1 or the cassette 2 is detected, the panel task is notified, and if not notified, the process is terminated as it is.

When the panel task is notified of the detection of the insertion of the paper feed cassette by the cassette sensor, the display device 320 of the printing device 100 displays the paper information setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 and accepts the user's input. By operating this setting screen, the user inputs information on the paper loaded in the inserted paper cassette.

FIG. 5 is a setting screen displayed on the display device 320 when the cassette sensor 1 detects the insertion of the paper feed cassette. On the setting screen 501, a message prompting the setting of the paper information to be set in the cassette 1 is displayed. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, "Register the paper information of the cassette 1" is displayed.

Here, the display control of the display device 320 is performed by the CPU 301 via the panel control circuit 317. In the present embodiment, the operation panel 318 is composed of a touch panel, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a display such as a normal LCD that does not have a touch panel sensor may be used. The touch panel has a touch panel sensor, and by detecting the change in capacitance caused by contact or approach with a finger or a conductive medium, the presence or absence of touch operation and the touched position can be determined. To detect. Under the control of the CPU 301, the touch panel sensor detects a "touch operation" in which the user touches the surface of the liquid crystal display, a "tap operation" in which the touched finger is released without moving, and a "drag operation" in which the touched finger is moved.

When you touch the area next to the size, the subwindow 502 is displayed so as to cover the setting screen 501, as shown in FIG. 5B. In the sub window 502, the size is selected by the user touching the predetermined size. Further, when the area next to the type is touched, the sub window 503 is displayed so as to cover the display screen 501 as shown in FIG. 5 (c). In the sub window 503, the user touches a predetermined type to select the paper type. Since the number of sub-windows 502 and sub-windows 503 to be displayed is limited, if there are many sizes or types included in the list, they are displayed so that the user can select them from the pull-down menu. Further, on the setting screen, in the default state before the user operation, the previously set size and type are displayed in the size and type, respectively.

Then, when the registration button is touched on the setting screen of FIG. 5A, the user input is accepted and the setting of the paper information of the paper cassette 1 is completed. In the present embodiment, the registration button is displayed on the setting screen 501, but the registration button and the cancel button may be provided. In this case, even if the cancel button is touched, the setting of the paper information of the paper cassette 1 is completed.

When setting the paper information of the paper cassette 2, except that "Register the paper information of the cassette 2" is displayed instead of "Register the paper information of the cassette 1". Since it is the same as FIG. 5, the description thereof will be omitted.

The display method of the setting screen is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 5, the registration button is displayed, but the setting is terminated in response to the pressing of the button provided outside the display device 320 of the operation panel 318 without displaying the registration button. May be good. Alternatively, the forward button may be displayed and the setting may be terminated based on the detection of the touch of the forward button.

Further, a priority is set for each paper cassette. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the same paper is loaded in two paper cassettes, and the priority of the paper cassette having a high throughput is set high. In the case of the present embodiment, the paper cassette 1 having a closer distance between the paper cassette and the transport roller has a higher throughput than the paper cassette 2, so the priority of the paper cassette 1 is set higher.

Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the screen display control when another paper cassette is inserted while the paper information setting screen of the paper cassette is being displayed will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the display process according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the CPU 301 loads the program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes the program.

In S601, it is assumed that the paper information setting screen is displayed on the display unit of the printing apparatus 100. At this time, the display of the setting screen may be executed based on the detection of the insertion of an arbitrary paper cassette, or the execution based on the instruction of the user operation to register the setting of the paper information. It may be the one that has been done.

After that, when the insertion of the paper cassette is detected in step S602, the operation is changed according to the priority of the paper cassette for which the insertion is detected. Specifically, by comparing the priority of the paper cassette (in the case of FIG. 5, the paper cassette 1) corresponding to the setting screen displayed on the display unit with the priority of the paper cassette that has detected the insertion. Determine the display method.

The first pattern is a case where the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed is reinserted while the setting screen is being displayed. When the paper cassette detected while the setting screen is displayed is the same as the paper cassette on which the setting screen is displayed (S603), the paper information registration screen corresponding to the detection is not displayed (S604). The remaining pattern is a case where a paper cassette different from the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed is inserted in the printing apparatus having a plurality of paper cassettes. If the paper cassette for which insertion is detected while the setting screen is displayed has a lower priority than the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed (S605), the display operation for that detection is postponed and the current setting is made. Continue to display the screen (S606). On the other hand, when the paper cassette inserted during the display of the setting screen has a higher priority than the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed (S607), the display operation for the detection is interrupted (S608). Specifically, the display of the current setting screen is switched to the display of the setting screen of the inserted paper cassette.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that these three patterns of processing are combined and implemented, but they may be implemented independently. Further, in the present embodiment, when the priority of the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen displayed on the display unit and the priority of the paper cassette for which insertion is detected are the same, the paper cassettes are the same. be. However, when three or more paper cassettes are included, the paper cassettes may have different priorities even if they have the same priority. In this case, the display operation may be postponed as in S606.

FIG. 7 is an example of a flowchart showing the display process shown in FIG. 6 in more detail. In S701, the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette is displayed. Here, in the displayed setting screen, when the insertion of a plurality of paper cassettes is detected, the one having the highest priority among the currently detected paper cassettes is displayed.

In S702, it is determined whether the setting of the paper information via the setting screen is completed, and if the setting is completed, the process proceeds to S708, and if the setting is not completed, the process proceeds to S703.

In S703, it is determined whether or not the insertion of the paper feed cassette is detected. If the insertion of the paper cassette is not detected, the process returns to S702. As a result, the state of the device is monitored until a new insertion of the paper cassette is detected. On the other hand, when the insertion of the paper cassette is detected in S703, the paper cassette corresponds to the setting screen currently displayed, or the suspended paper cassette (holding paper cassette). It is determined whether they are the same (step S704). In the present embodiment, different priorities are set for the paper cassettes, so it is determined whether they are the same or not by using the priorities. Even when three or more paper cassettes are provided, if different priorities are set, the priorities can be used to determine whether the paper cassettes are the same. The determination of whether or not the paper cassette is the same as the inserted paper cassette is not limited to this, and for example, it is determined whether the inserted paper cassette is the same based on whether the notification source of the insertion of the paper cassette is the same. You may.

If it is determined in S704 that they are the same, the setting screen for the paper cassette is not displayed, the screen returns to S701, and the display of the paper information setting screen is continued. As a result, the setting screen for the same paper cassette is not displayed again. On the other hand, if it is determined that they are not the same, the process proceeds to S705, and the priority is determined whether the paper cassette inserted later has a higher priority than the paper cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen. If the priority of the paper cassette inserted later is high (Yes in S705), the paper cassette is changed to the current cassette, and the paper cassette on the setting screen that has been displayed so far is suspended (pending state). (S706). That is, the paper information setting screen of the paper cassette is displayed. Then, it returns to S701. On the other hand, if the priority of the paper cassette inserted later is low (No in S705), the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette is suspended (S707), the current screen display is continued, and the screen returns to S701. .. In this way, based on the determination result, it is determined whether to suspend the currently displayed setting screen or the inserted paper cassette setting screen. Here, in the present embodiment, the setting screen to be displayed on the display device 320 is replaced, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the already displayed setting screen may be suspended by displaying the setting screen corresponding to the high-priority paper cassette on the already displayed setting screen. Then, when the setting of the setting screen corresponding to the high-priority paper cassette is completed, the setting screen may disappear so that the already displayed setting screen is displayed on the uppermost surface.

When the setting is completed by the determination in S702, it is determined whether or not there is a paper cassette suspended in S708. If there is no suspended paper cassette (No in S708), there is no paper information setting screen to be displayed anymore, so the process ends. If there is a suspended cassette (Yes in S708), the paper feed cassette is changed to the current cassette in step S709, the paper information setting screen is displayed, and the process returns to S701.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating control when the same paper cassette is reinserted, paying attention to the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. In the present embodiment, the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette is displayed on the display unit of the apparatus at the timing when the user inserts the paper cassette, not at the timing when the user removes the paper cassette. .. The paper information setting screen may be displayed at the timing when the user removes the paper cassette. After that, if the user inserts or removes the same paper cassette again, the setting screen is not displayed on the screen. That is, when the same paper cassette is reinserted, the setting screen is not redisplayed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating control when a different paper cassette is inserted during the setting screen display, paying attention to the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. Here, in a device having two paper cassettes, a paper cassette 1 and a paper cassette 2, a case where the paper cassette 1 and the paper cassette 2 are inserted and removed in this order will be described as an example.

FIG. 9 shows a process when the paper cassette 1 has a high priority. When the user inserts the paper cassette 1, the display unit of the apparatus displays the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette 1. When the user subsequently inserts or removes the paper cassette 2, the priority of the paper cassette 2 is lower than the priority of the paper cassette 1 corresponding to the setting screen currently being displayed, so that the screen display is suspended. .. After that, when the setting of the paper cassette 1 is completed, the setting screen for the suspended paper cassette 2 is displayed.

In the present embodiment, while the paper cassette information setting screen is displayed, the display operation based on the new insertion detection by the same paper cassette can be ignored. Further, while the setting screen for the paper cassette having a higher priority is displayed, the display operation based on the insertion detection of the paper cassette having a lower priority than the paper cassette can be postponed. Further, when the information setting screen of the paper cassette having a lower priority is displayed, the display operation based on the insertion detection of the paper cassette having a higher priority than the paper cassette can be interrupted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from making the same setting a plurality of times, and the setting screen of the paper cassette having a high priority is always displayed, so that excellent usability can be realized. In addition, since the setting screen is displayed according to the priority, the order of the paper cassettes to be set becomes clear.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, it has been described that the priority of the paper cassettes is determined based on the print throughput. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the priority of each paper cassette is determined based on the frequency of use. The number of uses in a predetermined period may be acquired and the priority may be determined based on the acquired number of uses, or the frequency of use may be predicted in advance to determine the priority.

Depending on the printing device, for example, the paper corresponding to each paper cassette, that is, the paper that can be stored in each paper cassette may be different. Specifically, for example, the paper feed cassette 1 is used for small-sized special paper such as photo paper, and the paper feed cassette 2 is used for plain paper or large-sized paper in addition to small-sized special paper such as photo paper. It may be supported. In this case, it is assumed that the paper feed cassette 2 corresponding to all the papers is frequently used. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to improve usability, the priority of the paper cassette 2 which is assumed to be frequently used by the user is set high in advance. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating control when a different paper cassette is inserted during the setting screen display, paying attention to the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. Here, in a device having two paper cassettes, a paper cassette 1 and a paper cassette 2, a case where the paper cassette 1 and the paper cassette 2 are inserted and removed in this order will be described as an example. The difference from FIG. 9 is that the paper cassette 2 has a high priority.

When the user inserts the paper cassette 1, the display unit of the apparatus displays the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette 1. After that, when the user inserts the paper cassette 2, the priority of the paper cassette 2 is higher than the priority of the paper cassette 1 corresponding to the setting screen currently being displayed, so that the screen display of the paper cassette 2 is displayed. Is interrupted, and the screen display of the paper cassette 1 that has been displayed is suspended. After that, when the setting of the paper cassette 2 is completed, the setting screen for the suspended paper cassette 1 is displayed again.

In this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Here, the priority is set based on the frequency of use, but the priority setting of the paper cassette is not limited to this, and may be appropriately set according to the product specifications and the like.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments, the priority is set in advance in the printing apparatus, but in the present embodiment, the priority can be arbitrarily set by the user. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is an example of a priority setting screen displayed on the display device 320. The priority setting screen may be displayed based on a user operation, or may be displayed at a predetermined timing such as initial startup or restart of the device. The user sets the priority for each paper cassette via the setting screen displayed on the display device 320. The CPU 301 creates a paper cassette and a priority correspondence table corresponding to the input. An example of the table is shown in FIG. The created table is referred to as a look-up table at the time of determination in S705 of FIG.

In this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, since the priority can be changed arbitrarily, it is possible to make settings more suitable for each user's use case according to the user's usage of the device, and usability can be improved.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the case where the number of paper cassettes is two has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more paper cassettes can also be used. In this embodiment, a case where three or more paper cassettes are provided will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 13 shows the flowchart of FIG. 7 corresponding to three or more paper cassettes, and the basic processing flow is the same as that of FIG. 7. In FIG. 14, the CPU 301 loads the program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes the program.

In FIG. 13, in S706 and S707, the paper cassettes having a low priority are suspended, but when three or more paper cassettes are supported, the number of suspended paper cassettes is large. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an area for storing the suspended paper cassette is prepared in the RAM. The suspended paper cassette is stacked in RAM with its own priority. FIG. 13A is a conceptual diagram thereof. Here, the cassette 1, the cassette 3, and the cassette 2 are stacked in this order, and the priority is assumed to be the highest in the order of the cassette 3, the cassette 2, and the cassette 1. This priority may be arbitrarily set by the user as in the third embodiment. In that case, the priority table shown in FIG. 12 is created in a form corresponding to a plurality of cassettes as shown in FIG.

If it is determined in S708 that the paper is suspended or has a set, the paper cassette suspended in step S1409 is changed to the current cassette. At this time, the paper cassette having the highest priority is searched from the stacked paper cassettes, and this is used as the current cassette. That is, in the example of FIG. 14A, the cassette 3 is changed to the current cassette and deleted from the stack, so that the state shown in FIG. 14B is obtained.

In the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained even when the number of paper cassettes is three or more.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the priority of the paper cassette may be such that the user can change the priority preset in the device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the paper feed cassette has been described as an example as the paper feed unit, but a paper feed unit other than the paper feed cassette may be used. Examples of the paper feed unit include an ASF (AutoSheetFeeder) and a manual feed unit. Since the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 16 is the configuration diagram of FIG. 2 with ASF added and the parts other than the paper feed unit are the same, the description thereof will be omitted. The ASF includes an ASF tray 1701, a cover shaft 1702, an inner cover 1703, and an ASF sensor 1704. In ASF, recording paper is loaded and conveyed on the ASF tray 1701. The opening and closing of the inner cover 1703 that opens and closes with the cover shaft 1702 as the shaft may be handled in the same manner as the insertion and removal of the paper feed cassette. That is, the operation of closing the inner cover 1703 is treated as the same operation as inserting the paper cassette. The opening / closing of the inner cover 1703 is detected by the ASF sensor 1704. The sensor 1704 has, for example, the same configuration as the cassette sensors 219 and 220. Further, regarding the priority setting, for example, ASF is set to the highest because there are many cases where special paper is loaded when the user wants to use it. Then, for the remaining paper cassettes, the priority of the paper cassette 1 having a high throughput is set higher than that of the paper cassette 2, as in the first embodiment. That is, the priority of the paper feed unit is set higher in the order of ASF, paper cassette 1, and paper cassette 2. Of course, as in the second embodiment, it may be determined based on the frequency of use, it may be determined based on other conditions, or it may be determined by the user.

Further, when there is only one paper cassette, it is controlled so that the registration screen of the same paper cassette is not newly displayed on the screen being operated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printing device is provided with a control device, but the present invention is not limited to this. When displaying the setting screen on the display unit of an external device having a printer driver connected to the printing device of FIG. 1, or when displaying the setting screen on the display unit of the printing device according to an instruction from the external device, this external device is used. The device becomes the control device.

The above-described embodiment is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program. This is the process to be executed. Further, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed by interlocking a plurality of computers. Further, it is not necessary to realize all of the above-mentioned processing by software, and a part or all of the processing may be realized by hardware such as ASIC. Further, the CPU is not limited to one that performs all processing by one CPU, and a plurality of CPUs may perform processing while appropriately coordinating with each other.

Claims (24)

A first paper unit for setting paper and a second paper unit different from the first paper unit,
Based on the user operation on the first paper unit, the first screen is displayed on the display unit as the screen related to the paper setting of the first paper unit, and the second paper unit is based on the user operation on the second paper unit. A display control means for displaying the second screen on the display unit as a screen related to the paper setting of
Equipped with
When the first paper unit is operated by the user while the second screen is displayed based on the user operation on the second paper unit, the display control means has the first screen based on the operation. Is displayed, and when the first screen disappears based on a user instruction for a predetermined item in the first screen, the second screen is displayed without a new user operation on the second paper unit. A printing device characterized by that. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper setting of the first paper unit on the first screen is completed based on a user instruction to a predetermined item in the first screen. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first screen disappears based on a user instruction to the predetermined item in the first screen. The printing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the predetermined item in the first screen is a registration button. The printing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the predetermined item in the first screen is a cancel button. The display control means is characterized in that when the second paper unit is operated by the user while the first screen is displayed, the second screen is not displayed in the state before the first screen disappears. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The display control means is displaying the first screen when the second paper unit is operated by the user while the first screen is displayed, and before the first screen disappears. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display of the display unit is not changed based on the operation of the second paper unit. In the display control means, when the first paper unit is re-operated by the user while the first screen is displayed, the display of the display unit displaying the first screen is re-operated. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the printing apparatus is not changed based on the above. In the display control means, when the second paper unit is re-operated by the user while the second screen is displayed, the display of the display unit displaying the second screen is re-operated. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the printing apparatus is not changed based on the above. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first paper unit has a higher priority than the second paper unit. The throughput when recording is performed on the paper fed and conveyed from the first paper unit is higher than the throughput when recording is performed on the paper fed and conveyed from the second paper unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10. Claims 1 to 11 are characterized in that the distance on the transfer path from the first paper unit to the predetermined transfer roller is shorter than the distance on the transfer path from the second paper unit to the predetermined transfer roller. The printing apparatus according to any one of the above items. When the second paper unit is operated by the user while the first screen is not displayed, the display control means displays the second screen based on the operation of the second paper unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the printing apparatus is characterized. In the state where the first screen is displayed based on the user operation for the first paper unit, information regarding the paper fed from the second paper unit is displayed as the paper setting of the second paper unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the printing apparatus is not provided. A first detecting means for detecting that the first paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus, and
A second detection means for detecting that the second paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing device, and
Further prepare
The display control means is
When the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been inserted, the first screen is displayed on the display unit based on the detection.
When the second detection means detects that the second paper unit has been inserted, the second screen is displayed on the display unit based on the detection.
When the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been inserted while the second screen is displayed, the first screen is displayed based on the detection, and further, the first screen is displayed. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein when one screen disappears, the second screen is displayed even if the second detection means does not detect the insertion of the second paper unit. Printing equipment. A first detecting means for detecting that the first paper unit has been pulled out from a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus, and
A second detecting means for detecting that the second paper unit has been pulled out from a predetermined portion of the printing device, and
Further prepare
The display control means is
When the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been pulled out, the first screen is displayed on the display unit based on the detection.
When the second detection means detects that the second paper unit has been pulled out, the second screen is displayed on the display unit based on the detection.
When the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been pulled out while the second screen is displayed, the first screen is displayed based on the detection, and further, the first screen is displayed. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein when the screen disappears, the second screen is displayed even if the second detecting means does not detect that the second paper unit has been pulled out. The printing device described. The first screen is a screen for registering information regarding the size and type of paper fed from the first paper unit.
The printing according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second screen is a screen for registering information regarding the size and type of paper fed from the second paper unit. Device. On the first screen, information regarding the size and type of paper fed from the first paper unit, which was set last time, is displayed.
The second screen is any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the information regarding the size and type of the paper fed from the second paper unit, which has been set last time, is displayed on the second screen. The printing device described. A size selection screen for selecting information regarding the size of the paper is displayed based on the user instruction for the first area of the first screen, and the type of paper is displayed based on the user instruction for the second area of the first screen. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein a type selection screen for selecting information about the subject is displayed. When the paper size is selected on the size selection screen, and after the paper type is selected on the type selection screen, a user instruction is given to the registration button which is the predetermined item in the first screen. The printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the paper setting of the first paper unit on the first screen is completed and the first screen disappears based on a user instruction. The first paper unit is a first cassette in which paper is set, and the second paper unit is a second cassette in which paper is set. Any one of claims 1 to 20. The printing device described in. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein when a user instruction is given to a predetermined item in the first screen, information about the paper is registered in the first paper unit. The printing device described. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 22, further comprising a printing means for printing on the paper. The printing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the printing means prints on the paper by an inkjet method.

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