JP7204981B2 - Control device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control device, control method, and program.

2. Description of the Related Art Information processing apparatuses are known to have a function of detecting insertion of a paper feed cassette and automatically displaying a registration screen for that paper feed cassette. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100000, a cassette for paper type setting is determined based on the open/closed state of the cassette and the presence or absence of paper in the cassette.

JP 2004-34711

However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100002, in an apparatus in which a paper cassette information setting screen is displayed when a paper cassette is inserted, if the same paper cassette is reinserted while a 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, a new registration screen for the same paper feed cassette is displayed on the screen being operated, resulting in reduced usability.

Also, if there are multiple paper cassettes, if you insert and remove different paper cassettes in succession while the registration screen for a certain paper cassette is displayed, the registration screen for multiple paper cassettes will be displayed every time you insert or remove the paper cassette. It will appear alternately, and user usability will decrease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve usability when setting information of a recording medium in view of the above circumstances.

To achieve the above object, the control device according to the present invention includes a first paper unit and a second paper unit different from the first paper unit for setting paper, and a user operation for the first paper unit. a first screen as a screen relating to paper settings for the first paper unit is displayed on the display unit, and a second screen is displayed as a screen relating to paper settings for the second paper unit based on the user's operation for the second paper unit. is displayed on the display unit, and the display control unit is operated by the user while the second screen is displayed based on the user's operation on the second paper unit. is operated, the first screen is displayed based on the operation, the first screen is erased based on the user's instruction to a predetermined item in the first screen, and after the first screen disappears A user instruction for the paper setting of the second paper unit is accepted via the second screen, which allows the user to instruct without the user's operation to the printing apparatus in the above .

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve usability when setting information on a recording medium.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a sheet conveying portion of the printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a paper cassette detection handler of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sheet information setting screen in display processing according to the first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing an overview of display processing according to the first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart of display processing according to the first embodiment; 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining user actions and screen displays in the control of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 9 is another diagram illustrating user actions and screen displays in the control of the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining user actions and screen displays in the control of the second embodiment; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a priority setting screen in display processing according to the third embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a priority table in display processing according to the third embodiment; FIG. 14 is a flowchart of display processing according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a stack table in display processing according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a priority table in display processing according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a sheet conveying portion according to another embodiment;

(Embodiment 1)
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing. It should be noted that 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 to these. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a multi-function printer (MFP) having a reading function (scanner) will be described as an example of a printing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a printing apparatus having only a printing function. may

In FIG. 1 , the printing apparatus 100 has a document table 101 , a document lid 102 , a plurality of paper feed cassettes (paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2 ), and a paper discharge tray 105 .

A document table 101 is a glass-like transparent table, and is used when a document is placed thereon and read by a scanner. The document cover 102 is a cover for preventing reading light from leaking to the outside when the scanner performs reading, and is configured to cover the document platen 101 . Each paper feed cassette (paper feed cassette 103, paper feed cassette 104) can set paper of various sizes and paper types. Sheets set in the paper feed cassettes 103 and 104 are conveyed to the printing unit one by one, and after being printed by the printing unit, the sheets are ejected from the paper ejection tray 105 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus equipped with two paper feed cassettes has been described as an example. may be three or more.

Further, the printing method is not limited to printing an image by an inkjet method using 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 may be employed. In addition, the apparatus is not limited to color printing using recording agents of a plurality of colors, and may be monochrome printing using only black (including gray). In addition, printing is not limited to printing a visible image, and may be printing an image that is invisible or difficult to see. It is also possible to print various items such as printing of arrays and the like. In other words, the present invention can be applied to various types of printing apparatuses as long as the recording material can be applied to the recording material.

In this embodiment, paper is used as the recording medium, but the material of the recording medium is not limited to paper, and various materials can be used as long as they can be printed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the printing mechanism portion in the printing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. The printing apparatus 100 has a paper feed cassette 201, a paper feed cassette 202, and a paper discharge tray 203, which correspond to the paper feed cassette 103, the paper feed cassette 104, and the paper discharge tray 105 in FIG. 1, respectively. The printing apparatus 100 also has a print head 212, a carriage 213, and guide rails 214 as printing units.

Recording paper S1 stacked in a paper feed cassette 201 is picked up by a paper feed roller 204 driven by a transport motor (not shown), fed between transport rollers 205 and 206, and transported by transport rollers 205 and 206. be done. The recording paper S2 transported by the transport rollers 205 and 206 is transported by a transport path including a paper transport guide 207 and a paper transport guide 208 to make a U turn and is sent to the transport rollers 209 and 210 . Although not shown, a paper feed roller is provided to pick up the recording paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 202, and a transport roller is provided to transport the picked up recording paper. As a result, the recording paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 202 is picked up and transported to the transport path.

Furthermore, the recording paper S2 is conveyed over the platen 211 . A carriage 213 on which a 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 reciprocally driven along a guide rail 214 by a carriage motor (not shown). By applying drive pulses to the print head 212, a recorded image is formed on the recording paper S2. The recording paper S2 on which the image has been formed is further conveyed by the discharge rollers 215 and 216 provided downstream of the conveying rollers 209 and 210 in the conveying direction, and is discharged to the discharge tray 203. be done. Recording sheets S<b>2 on which images are formed, that is, printed recording sheets S<b>2 are stacked on the discharge tray 203 .

A paper sensor 218 is provided in the carriage 213 and can detect whether or not the recording paper S2 is present on the platen 211 . The paper sensor 218 is made up of, for example, a reflective optical sensor, and by acquiring the output level of the paper sensor 218, the above detection can be performed. In the present embodiment, since the paper sensor 218 is provided on the carriage 213, the output level of the paper sensor 218 is acquired while the carriage 213 is moving, thereby determining the size of the recording paper S2 being conveyed on the platen 211. Edge positions can be detected.

Further, the paper feed cassette 201 and the paper feed cassette 202 are provided with a cassette sensor 219 and a cassette sensor 220, respectively, which can detect insertion or removal of the paper feed cassette.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. The printing device 100 has a CPU 301 , a program memory 303 and a data memory 304 .
The printing apparatus 100 also has 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 an internal bus 302 .

A CPU 301 is a central processing unit in the form of a microprocessor (microcomputer), and controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus 100 by executing programs and activating hardware. A program memory 303 is a ROM that stores programs to be executed by the CPU 301 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the printing apparatus 100 . A data memory 304 is composed of a RAM, and is used as a work area for the CPU 301, as a temporary storage area for various received data, and for storing various setting data. A data memory 304 is used for purposes such as a work memory 305 used by the CPU 301 when executing a control program and an image memory 306 for storing image data formed on a recording sheet.

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

The CPU 301 can control various motors that drive the mechanisms of the printing apparatus 100 via the motor control circuit 309 . A transport motor 310 drives the paper feed roller 203 , transport rollers 205 , 206 , 209 and 210 , and paper discharge rollers 215 and 216 to transport the recording paper from the paper feed tray to the paper discharge tray 203 . A carriage motor 311 (described as 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 perform a recovery operation for keeping the print head 212 in an appropriate state.

The CPU 301 can control the print head 212 via a head control circuit 313 . By controlling the print head 212 in synchronization with the reciprocating motion of the carriage 213, an image is formed on the recording paper.

The CPU 301 can control the sensor light source 315 of the paper sensor 218 via the sensor control circuit 314 and acquire the output voltage of the optical sensor 316 of the paper sensor 218 . Also, the CPU 301 can control various cassette sensors via the sensor control circuit 314 . The cassette sensor 219 for the paper feed cassette 1 and the cassette sensor 220 for the paper feed cassette 2 are composed of, for example, a photointerrupter and a mechanical switch.

Each cassette sensor detects that the user has inserted or removed a paper cassette from the printing apparatus 100 , and the CPU 301 can acquire the detection via the sensor control circuit 314 .

The CPU 301 controls an operation panel 318 provided on the outer surface of the printing apparatus 100 via a 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 user's operations on the hard key group 319 on the operation panel 318. .

The CPU 301 can control a scanner 325 not shown in FIG.

The CPU 301 can read and write various files in a memory card 323 inserted in a memory card slot 322 provided on the outer surface of the printing apparatus 100 via a memory card control circuit 321 . After being stored in the image memory 306 in the data memory 304, the image read by the scanner 325 can be transmitted to the host computer 308 or saved in the memory card 323 as an image file. It is also possible to use the image read by the scanner 325 as a copy function by controlling the printing mechanism and printing the image as it is.

Here, a description will be given of control when detecting that a paper feed cassette has been inserted into the printing apparatus 100 and displaying a setting screen for corresponding paper information (recording medium information). Various operations of the printing apparatus, such as print control and transport control, are executed based on the paper information set on the setting screen.

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

The paper feed cassette detection process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing in which the CPU 301 loads the program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes it. Note that the paper feed cassette detection process shown in FIG. 4 is performed for each cycle. When the paper feed cassette detection process is started, in S401, it is determined whether the insertion of the cassette 1 has been detected.

If it is determined that the insertion of the cassette 1 has been detected, the insertion of the cassette is notified to the CPU 301 (S402), and the process proceeds to S403. If the insertion of the cassette 1 is not detected, the process proceeds directly to S403. In S403, it is determined whether the insertion of the cassette 2 has been detected. If it is determined that the insertion of the cassette 2 has been detected, the panel task is notified of the insertion of the cassette (S404), and the process ends. If the insertion of the cassette 1 is not detected, the processing ends. In this way, when the insertion of the cassette 1 or the cassette 2 is detected, the panel task is notified.

When the cassette sensor notifies the panel task that the paper cassette has been inserted, the display device 320 of the printing apparatus 100 displays a paper information setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 to accept user input. By operating this setting screen, the user inputs information about the sheets loaded in the inserted paper feed cassette.

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

Here, display control of the display device 320 is performed by the CPU 301 via the panel control circuit 317 . In this embodiment, the operation panel 318 is made up of a touch panel, but is not limited to this, and may be a display such as a normal LCD that does not include a touch panel sensor. The touch panel has a touch panel sensor, and detects the presence or absence of a touch operation and the touched position by detecting the change in capacitance caused by the contact or approach of a finger or a conductive medium. 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 user releases the touched finger without moving it, and a "drag operation" in which the touched finger is moved.

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

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

When setting the paper information for cassette 2, instead of "Please register the paper information for cassette 1.", "Please register the paper information for cassette 2." Since it is the same as FIG. 5, the description is omitted.

Note that the display method of the setting screen is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, although the registration button is displayed in FIG. good too. Alternatively, a forward button may be displayed, and the setting may be terminated based on detection of a touch of the forward button.

A priority is set for each paper feed cassette. In this embodiment, assuming that the same sheets are stacked in two paper feed cassettes, a higher priority is set for the paper feed cassette with higher throughput. In the case of the present embodiment, the paper feed cassette 1 having a closer distance between the paper feed cassette and the transport roller has a higher throughput than the paper feed cassette 2, so the priority of the paper feed cassette 1 is set higher.

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

Assume that a sheet information setting screen is displayed on the display unit of the printing apparatus 100 in S601. At this time, the display of the setting screen may be executed based on the detection of insertion of an arbitrary paper cassette, or may be executed based on the user's instruction to register paper information settings. may have been

After that, when detection of the insertion of the paper feed cassette is received in step S602, the operation is changed according to the priority of the paper feed cassette whose insertion is detected. Specifically, by comparing the priority of the paper feed cassette (paper feed cassette 1 in the case of FIG. 5) corresponding to the setting screen displayed on the display unit and the priority of the paper feed cassette whose insertion has been detected. Decide how to display.

The first pattern is when the paper feed cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed is reinserted while the setting screen is being displayed. If the paper feed cassette detected while the setting screen is being displayed is the same as the paper feed cassette for which the setting screen is displayed (S603), the paper information registration screen corresponding to the detection is not displayed (S604). The remaining patterns are cases in which a paper feed cassette different from the paper feed cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed is inserted in a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed cassettes. If the paper cassette whose insertion was detected while the setting screen was being 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 settings are displayed. The screen display is continued (S606). On the other hand, if the paper cassette inserted while the setting screen is being displayed 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 feed 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 this embodiment, if the priority of the paper cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed on the display unit and the priority of the paper cassette whose insertion is detected are the same, the paper cassettes are the same. be. However, when three or more paper feed cassettes are included, paper feed cassettes with the same priority may be different paper feed cassettes. In this case, the display operation may be postponed as in S606.

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

In S702, it is determined whether or not the paper information setting via the setting screen has been completed.

In S703, it is determined whether the insertion of the paper feed cassette has been detected. If the insertion of the paper feed cassette is not detected, the process returns to S702. As a result, the state of the apparatus is monitored until the insertion of the paper feed cassette is newly detected. On the other hand, when the insertion of a paper cassette is detected in S703, the paper cassette is detected as a paper cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen or as a suspended paper cassette (reserved paper cassette). It is determined whether they are the same (step S704). In this embodiment, different priorities are set for the paper feed cassettes, so whether or not they are the same is determined using the priorities. Even when three or more paper feed cassettes are provided, if different priorities are set for each paper feed cassette, the priority can be used to determine whether the paper feed cassettes are the same. The determination of whether or not the inserted paper cassette is the same is not limited to this. For example, it is determined whether the inserted paper cassette is the same based on whether the notification source of 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 that paper feed cassette is not displayed, and the process returns to S701 to continue displaying the paper information setting screen. As a result, the setting screen for the same sheet cassette is not displayed again. On the other hand, if it is determined that they are not the same, the process advances to S705 to determine whether the priority of the sheet cassette inserted later is higher than the priority of the sheet cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen. If the paper cassette that was inserted later has a higher priority (Yes in S705), that paper cassette is changed to the current cassette, and the paper cassette on the setting screen that has been displayed so far is put into a suspended state (reserved state). (S706). That is, the screen for setting the paper information of the paper feed cassette is displayed. Then, the process returns to S701. On the other hand, if the priority of the paper feed cassette inserted later is low (No in S705), the paper information setting screen for that paper feed cassette is suspended (S707), the current screen display is continued, and the process returns to S701. . Thus, based on the determination result, it is determined whether to suspend the currently displayed setting screen or suspend the setting screen of the inserted paper feed cassette. Here, in the present embodiment, the setting screens displayed on the display device 320 are replaced, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, by displaying a setting screen corresponding to a paper feed cassette with a high priority on the setting screen that is already being displayed, the already displayed setting screen may be suspended. Then, when the setting of the setting screen corresponding to the paper feed cassette with a high priority is completed, the setting screen disappears, so that the already displayed setting screen can be displayed on the top.

When the setting is completed by the determination in S702, it is determined in S708 whether or not there is a suspended paper feed cassette. If there is no suspended paper feed cassette (No in S708), there is no more paper information setting screen to be displayed, so the process ends. If there is a suspended cassette (Yes in S708), the paper 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 for explaining the control when the same paper cassette is reinserted, focusing on the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. In this embodiment, the paper information setting screen for the paper cassette is displayed on the display unit of the device when the user inserts the paper cassette, not when the user pulls out the paper cassette. . Note that the paper information setting screen may be displayed at the timing when the user pulls out the paper feed cassette. After that, when the user inserts and 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 displayed again.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the control when a different sheet cassette is inserted while the setting screen is being displayed, focusing on the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. Here, in an apparatus having two paper feed cassettes, paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2, a case in which the paper feed cassettes 1 and 2 are inserted and removed in this order will be described as an example.

FIG. 9 shows processing when the paper feed cassette 1 has a high priority. At the timing when the user inserts the paper feed cassette 1, the display unit of the apparatus displays a paper information setting screen for the paper feed cassette 1. - 特許庁If the user subsequently inserts or removes the paper feed cassette 2, the screen display is suspended because the priority of the paper feed cassette 2 is lower than the priority of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen. . After that, when the setting of the paper feed cassette 1 is completed, the setting screen for the paper feed cassette 2 which has been suspended is displayed.

In this embodiment, while the information setting screen for the paper cassette is displayed, display operations based on detection of new insertion of the same paper cassette can be ignored. Also, while the setting screen for the paper feed cassette with the higher priority is being displayed, the display operation based on the insertion detection of the paper feed cassette with the lower priority than the paper feed cassette with the lower priority can be postponed. Further, when the information setting screen of the paper cassette with the lower priority is displayed, the display operation based on the insertion detection of the paper cassette with the higher priority than the paper cassette with the higher priority can be interrupted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from making the same setting multiple times, and the setting screen of the paper feed cassette with the highest priority is always displayed, so that excellent usability can be realized. Also, since the setting screen is displayed according to the priority, the order of the paper feed cassettes to be set becomes clear.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the priority among paper feed cassettes is determined based on the print throughput. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the priority of each paper feed cassette is determined based on the frequency of use. The number of times of use in a predetermined period may be obtained and the priority may be determined based on the obtained number of times of use, or the frequency of use may be predicted in advance to determine the priority.

Depending on the printing apparatus, for example, the paper corresponding to each paper feed cassette, that is, the paper that can be stored in each paper feed cassette may differ. Specifically, for example, the paper feed cassette 1 can handle small size special paper such as photo paper, and the paper feed cassette 2 can handle small size special paper such as photo paper, as well as plain paper and large size paper. It may correspond. In this case, it is assumed that the paper feed cassette 2 corresponding to all sheets will be used frequently. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to improve usability, a high priority is set in advance to the paper feed cassette 2 that is assumed to be used frequently by the user. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same thing as Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the control when a different sheet cassette is inserted while the setting screen is being displayed, focusing on the user's operation and the screen display of the display unit. Here, in an apparatus having two paper feed cassettes, paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2, a case in which the paper feed cassettes 1 and 2 are inserted and removed in this order will be described as an example. A difference from FIG. 9 is that the paper feed cassette 2 has a higher priority.

At the timing when the user inserts the paper feed cassette 1, the display unit of the apparatus displays a paper information setting screen for the paper feed cassette 1. - 特許庁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 currently displayed setting screen, so the screen of the paper cassette 2 is displayed. is interrupted, and the screen display of the paper feed cassette 1 that has been displayed is suspended. After that, when the setting of the paper feed cassette 2 is completed, the setting screen for the paper feed cassette 1 that has been suspended is displayed again.

In this embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Note that here, the priority is set based on the frequency of use, but the setting of the priority of the paper feed cassette is not limited to this, and may be set as appropriate according to product specifications and the like.

(Embodiment 3)
In Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the priority is set in advance for the printing apparatus, but in the present embodiment, the user can arbitrarily set the priority. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same thing as Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

FIG. 11 is an example of a priority setting screen displayed on the display device 320 . This priority setting screen may be displayed based on a user's 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 feed cassette via the setting screen displayed on the display device 320 . The CPU 301 creates a paper feed cassette-priority correspondence table in accordance with the input. An example of the table is shown in FIG. The created table is referred to as a lookup table in the determination of S705 in FIG.

In this embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, since the priority can be arbitrarily changed, it is possible to make settings more suited to each user's use case according to how the user uses the apparatus, and usability can be improved.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the case where there are two paper feed cassettes has been described, but this is not a limitation, and three or more paper feed cassettes can also be handled. In this embodiment, a case where three or more paper feed cassettes are provided will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same thing as Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

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

In FIG. 13, in S706 and S707, paper feed cassettes with low priority are suspended, but when three or more paper feed cassettes are supported, a plurality of paper feed cassettes are suspended. For this reason, in this embodiment, an area for storing the suspended paper feed cassette is prepared in the RAM. A suspended paper cassette is stacked in RAM with its own priority. FIG. 13(a) is a conceptual diagram thereof. Here, cassette 1, cassette 3, and cassette 2 are stacked in this order, and cassette 3, cassette 2, and cassette 1 have the highest priority. 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 feed cassette has been suspended or is set, the paper feed cassette suspended in step S1409 is changed to the current cassette. At this time, the sheet cassette with the highest priority is searched from among the stacked sheet cassettes, and it is set as the current cassette. That is, in the example of FIG. 14(a), the cassette 3 is changed to the current cassette and deleted from the stack, resulting in the state of FIG. 14(b).

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

(Other embodiments)
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, for the priority of the paper feed cassette, the priority set in the apparatus in advance may be changed by the user.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the paper feed cassette is used as an example of 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 (AutoSheet Feeder) and a manual feed unit. The printing apparatus shown in FIG. 16 is obtained by adding an ASF to the configuration diagram of FIG. The ASF comprises an ASF tray 1701 , cover shaft 1702 , inner cover 1703 and ASF sensor 1704 . In ASF, recording paper is stacked on an ASF tray 1701 and conveyed. The opening and closing of the inner cover 1703, which opens and closes about the cover shaft 1702, can 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 an operation equivalent to inserting the paper feed cassette. An ASF sensor 1704 detects opening and closing of the inner cover 1703 . The sensor 1704 has the same configuration as the cassette sensors 219 and 220, for example. Also, regarding the setting of the priority, for example, ASF is set to be the highest because there are many cases where special paper is loaded when the user wants to use it. As for the remaining paper feed cassettes, the priority of the paper feed cassette 1, which has a high throughput, is set higher than that of the paper feed cassette 2, as in the first embodiment. That is, the priority of the paper feed units is set to be higher in the order of ASF, paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2 . Of course, as in the second embodiment, it may be determined based on the frequency of use, may be determined based on other conditions, or may be determined by the user.

Also, when there is one paper feed cassette, control is performed so that a new registration screen for the same paper feed cassette is not displayed on the screen being operated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printing device is provided with the 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 in FIG. The device becomes the control device.

The above-described embodiments are also implemented by executing the following processes. That is, the software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a 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. Also, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed by interlocking a plurality of computers. Further, it is not necessary to implement all of the above-described processing by software, and part or all of the processing may be implemented by hardware such as ASIC. Also, the CPU is not limited to a single CPU that performs all the processing, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while appropriately cooperating.

Claims (24)

a first paper unit and a second paper unit different from the first paper unit for setting paper;
displaying a first screen as a screen relating to paper settings for the first paper unit on the display unit based on a user operation on the first paper unit; and displaying the second paper unit on the basis of a user operation on the second paper unit display control means for causing the display unit to display a second screen as a screen relating to paper setting;
with
When the user operates the first paper unit while the second screen is displayed based on a user operation on the second paper unit, the display control means displays the first screen on the basis of the operation. is displayed, and furthermore, the first screen is erased based on the user's instruction to a predetermined item in the first screen, and the user's instruction can be given without the user's operation to the printing device after the first screen is erased. A printing apparatus, wherein a user's instruction for paper settings of the second paper unit is received via the second screen. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein paper setting for said first paper unit on said first screen is completed based on a user's instruction to a predetermined item on said first screen. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said display control means erases said first screen based on a user's instruction to said predetermined item in said first screen. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined item in said first screen is a registration button. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined item in said first screen is a cancel button. When the user operates the second paper unit while the first screen is being displayed, the display control means displays the second paper unit through the second screen before the first screen is turned off. 6. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the printing apparatus does not accept user instructions for paper settings of the paper unit. When the second paper unit is operated by the user while the first screen is displayed, the display control means is configured to display the first screen before turning off the first screen. 7. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display on said display unit does not change based on the operation of said second paper unit. When the first paper unit is operated again by the user while the first screen is being displayed, the display control means changes the display of the display unit during the display of the first screen to the re-operation. 8. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the printing apparatus does not change based on the printing apparatus. When the second paper unit is operated again by the user while the second screen is being displayed, the display control means changes the display of the display unit while the second screen is being displayed to the re-operation. 9. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it does not change based on. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the priority of the first paper unit is higher than that of 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, characterized by: 12. A distance on the conveying path from the first paper unit to the predetermined conveying roller is shorter than a distance on the conveying path from the second paper unit to the predetermined conveying roller. The printing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3. When the user operates the second paper unit while the first screen is not displayed, the display control means displays the second screen based on the operation of the second paper unit. 13. A printing device as claimed in any preceding claim. While the first screen is displayed based on the user's operation on the first paper unit, the information on the paper fed from the second paper unit is displayed as the paper settings for the second paper unit. 14. A printing device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there are no. a first detection means for detecting that the first paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus;
a second detection means for detecting that the second paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus;
further comprising
The display control means is
displaying the first screen on the display unit based on the detection when the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been inserted;
displaying the second screen on the display unit based on the detection when the second detection means detects that the second paper unit has been inserted;
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 the first screen is displayed. 1 screen is turned off, and even if the second detection means does not detect the insertion of the second paper unit, the user can instruct the printing apparatus without the user's operation after the 1st screen is turned off. 15. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein a user instruction for paper settings of the second paper unit is received via a screen. a first detection means for detecting that the first paper unit has been removed from a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus;
a second detection means for detecting that the second paper unit has been removed from a predetermined portion of the printing apparatus;
further comprising
The display control means is
displaying the first screen on the display unit based on the detection when the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been pulled out;
displaying the second screen on the display unit based on the detection when the second detection means detects that the second paper unit has been pulled out;
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 the first screen is displayed. Even if the screen is turned off and the second detection means does not detect that the second paper unit is pulled out, the user can instruct the printing apparatus without the user's operation after the first screen is turned off. 15. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein a user instruction for paper setting of the second paper unit is received via two screens. The first screen is a screen for registering information about the size and type of paper fed from the first paper unit,
14. The printing method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second screen is a screen for registering information about the size and type of paper fed from the second paper unit. Device. Information about the size and type of paper fed from the first paper unit, which was previously set, is displayed on the first screen,
18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the second screen displays information about the size and type of paper fed from the second paper unit, which was previously set. The described printing device. A size selection screen for selecting information about the size of paper is displayed based on the user's instruction for the first area of the first screen, and the type of paper is displayed based on the user's instruction for the second area of the first screen. 19. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein a type selection screen for selecting information about is displayed. After the paper size is selected on the size selection screen and the paper type is selected on the type selection screen, when the user instructs the registration button, which is the predetermined item in the first screen, 20. The printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the paper setting for the first paper unit on the first screen is completed and the first screen disappears based on a user's instruction. 21. 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. The printing device according to . 22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein when a user instructs a predetermined item on the first screen, information about the paper is registered in the first paper unit. The described printing device. 23. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 22, further comprising printing means for printing on said paper. 24. A printing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said printing means prints on said paper by an inkjet method.

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