JPS63162265A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a shift of printing position, print irregularity and the generation of defects due to the removal of a holder of copying materials by stopping printing action, if attachment/detachment of either of a paper feed cassette or the holder is detected by a detection means at the time of printing. CONSTITUTION:When a paper is fed, attachment of a paper feed cassette 4 is checked, and if attached, attachment of an ink cartridge 6 is checked. If the paper feed cassette 4 is not attached, or the ink cartridge 6 is not attached, printing operation is suspended. If both paper feed cassette 4 and ink cartridge 6 are attached, the operation of a timer 2 is suspended and printing operation is repeated. Defects in the results of printing due to a shift in the printing position of recording paper which results from the removal of the paper feed cassette during paper feed operation can be prevented. Further, defects such as the inclusion of air into a nozzle or failure to discharge ink by the detachment of an ink cartridge during printing can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer equipped with a paper feed cassette or a cartridge containing copying material.

[Prior Art] With the miniaturization of printer devices, the recording paper set in the printing position from the paper cassette is not completely removed from the paper cassette, but a portion of the recording paper remains in the cassette. It is in a state of

In such a case, if the paper feed cassette is removed during a printing operation, the printing position may shift or jam may occur. Additionally, even if the ink cartridge is removed during printing, printing continues, which causes air to get into the nozzle that supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the head, causing ink to fail to eject or become clogged. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional examples, and includes, for example, problems such as misalignment of print positions and uneven printing due to attachment and detachment of paper feed cassettes during printing, or accommodation of copying materials such as ink cartridges. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer that prevents problems caused by removal of a printer body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer that prevents paper jams caused by stopping printing operations.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the printer of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a paper feed cassette for storing recording paper, a storage body for storing copy materials, a detection means for detecting attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the storage body, and a detection means for detecting attachment/detachment during printing. and means for stopping the printing operation when detected.

According to another configuration of the present invention, a paper feed cassette for storing recording paper, a storage body for storing copying materials, and a detection means for detecting attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the storage body. , a timer for timing the time when either the paper feed cassette or the container is removed, a means for stopping the printing operation when the detection means detects the removal during printing, and a timer for stopping the printing operation for a predetermined time by the timer and a means for ejecting the recording paper when the time measurement is detected.

[Function] In the above configuration, when the detection means detects attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the container during printing, the printing operation is stopped.

According to another configuration, the detection means detects attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the container, and the timer measures the time during which either the paper feed cassette or the container is removed. During printing, when the detection means detects attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette or the container, the printing operation is stopped, and when the timing means detects that a predetermined time has elapsed, the recording paper being recorded is ejected. Operate.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of the structure of the inkjet printer (FIG. 1)] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

In the figure, l is a control unit that controls the entire device, for example, a CPU such as a microprocessor, a ROM that stores the CPU control program and data shown in the flowchart in Figure 2, and a work area for the CPU. RAM
etc. Reference numeral 2 denotes a timer that starts or stops timing in response to an instruction from the control section 1, and notifies the control section 1 by, for example, an interrupt when the specified predetermined time has elapsed. Reference numeral 3 designates a paper cassette sensor that detects whether or not a paper feed cassette 4 that stores recording paper is installed, and 5 designates an ink cartridge sensor that detects whether or not an ink cartridge 6 that supplies ink to the inkjet head is installed. .

Reference numeral 7 indicates a head driver that drives the inkjet head 8 in response to print data from the control unit 1, and reference numeral 8 indicates an inkjet head that discharges ink and prints on recording paper in response to electrical signals from the head dry puff. be.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a printer mechanism section that includes various printer mechanisms such as a carriage on which the head 8 is mounted, a platen around which recording paper is wound, and motors and various sensors that drive them. 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes an input section for inputting print data or inputting various instructions from an operation panel, etc., and the control section 1 starts a printing operation according to instructions from the input section 10.

[Mechanism explanation of paper feed cassette part (Fig. 2)] Fig. 2 (
A) is a diagram showing the state with the paper feed cassette 4 removed;
Figure CB) is a diagram showing a state in which the paper feed cassette 4 is installed.

In the figure, 3 indicates a paper cassette sensor that detects whether the paper cassette is installed, and 21 indicates the paper cassette 4.
A paper feed roller that takes out paper 25 from the paper is shown. 23
22 and 24 are guide rollers that press the paper 25 against the platen 23;

FIG. 2(B) shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 4 is installed and the paper 25 is wound around the platen roller 23, and the paper feed roller 21 descends in the direction of the arrow to feed the paper 25 by rotation. Remove from cassette 4. The paper 25 taken out from the paper feed cassette 4 is transported by guide rollers 22, 24 and platen roller 23 to the position shown in the figure. Even when the paper 25 is transported to the printing position in this way, one end of the paper 25 remains in the paper feed cassette 4 as shown in the figure.
If the paper feed cassette 4 is pulled out in this state, the paper will move, causing a problem that the printing position will shift.

[Description of Operation (FIG. 3)] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of printing one page by the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

This program is started by a print start instruction from the input unit 10, and first, in step S1, it is checked whether the paper feed cassette 4 is installed and whether recording paper is present in the paper feed cassette 4. When recording paper is present and the paper feed cassette 4 is installed, the process advances to step S2, where the paper feed system motor of the printing mechanism section 9 is driven to take out the recording paper from the paper feed cassette 4 and transport it to the printing section. perform an action. In step S3, it is checked whether the transfer of the recording paper is completed, and steps 31 to S3 are repeated until the paper feeding is completed. If the paper cassette 4 is attached or detached during the paper feeding operation, the process moves from step S1 to step S9. Then, the recording paper that is currently being transported is ejected.

When the paper feeding is completed, the process advances to step S4, and the paper feeding cassette 4 is loaded.
It is checked whether the ink cartridge 6 is installed, and if it is installed, the process advances to step S5 and it is checked whether the ink cartridge 6 is installed. If the ink cartridge 6 is installed, the process advances to step S6 to check whether there is ink in the cartridge 6. If there is ink, the printing mechanism section 9 and inkjet head 8 are driven in step S7 to print one line, and it is checked in step S8 whether printing for one page has been completed.

If the printing is not completed, the print mechanism section 9
The printing system motor or the like is driven to feed the paper or move the carriage, and the process returns to step S4. When the ink in the ink cartridge 6 becomes empty in step s6, the printing operation ends.

When printing for one page is completed in step S8, the process advances to step S9, where the printed recording paper is discarded and the printing process for one page is completed.

If the paper feed cassette 4 is not installed in step S4, or if the ink cartridge 6 is not installed in step s5, the process advances to step s11 and the printing operation is stopped. In step S12, a timer is started, and in step S13, it is checked whether both the paper feed cassette 4 and the ink cartridge 6 are installed. If any of these is not attached, the process advances to step S14, and it is checked whether a predetermined time has elapsed according to the timer 2, that is, whether a timeout has occurred.

If the timeout does not occur, the process returns to step S13 and the installation of the paper feed cassette 4 and ink cartridge 6 is checked again. However, if both the paper feed cassette 4 and the ink cartridge 6 are installed, the process proceeds to step S15 and the timer is set. 2 is stopped, the process proceeds to step S6, and the above-mentioned operation is repeatedly executed. When the timer 2 times out in step S14, the process advances to step S9, where the printed paper is ejected, the printing process is completed, and the process returns to the reception waiting mode for the next command.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent problems in printing results due to misalignment of the recording paper with respect to the printing position due to the paper feeding cassette being taken out during the paper feeding operation.

Further, it is possible to prevent problems such as air entering the nozzle or failure to eject ink due to the ink cartridge being removed during printing.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the recording paper being printed is automatically ejected, there is an advantage that paper jams do not occur due to stopping of the printing operation.

Although the present embodiment has been described with respect to an inkjet printer, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied, for example, to a printer equipped with a cartridge for copying materials such as an ink ribbon or toner, or a cassette for feeding paper.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate printing defects caused by, for example, misalignment of recording paper or poor ejection of ink.

Further, according to another invention, it is possible to prevent paper jams caused by stopping the printing operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the inkjet printer of this embodiment, Figures 2 (A) and (B) are diagrams showing the mechanical parts of the paper feed cassette, and Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the printing operation for one page. It is. In the figure, 1...Control unit, 2...Timer, 3...Paper cassette sensor, 4...Paper feed cassette, 5...Ink cartridge sensor, 6...Ink cartridge, 7
. . . spatula driver, 8 . . . head, 9 . . . print mechanism section, 10 . . . input section.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A paper feed cassette for storing recording paper, a container for storing copy materials, a detection means for detecting attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the container, and detachment/detachment by the detection means during printing. A printer characterized in that it is provided with means for stopping a printing operation when a printing operation is detected. (2) a paper feed cassette for storing recording paper; a container for storing copy materials; a detection means for detecting attachment/detachment of at least one of the paper feed cassette and the container; a timer for timing the time when any part of the body is attached or detached; and means for stopping the printing operation when attachment or detachment is detected by the detection means during printing;
A printer comprising means for ejecting recording paper when the clocking means detects that a predetermined time has elapsed.