JP4665683B2 - Printer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing information stored in a storage device provided in a replaceable part of a printer.

Conventionally, in an ink cartridge equipped with an IC (Integrated Circuit), the amount of ink used (or remaining amount) is written in the IC at a percentage of, for example, 0 to 100, and the remaining amount of ink is managed (for example, patent document). 1).
JP 2001-187457 A

  However, the ink usage (or remaining amount) value stored in the IC may be deviated from the correct value for some reason, such as the effect of noise. For example, when the amount of ink used (or remaining amount) becomes smaller (larger) than the actual value, the ink is run out and printing is performed in spite of the fact that the ink has already run out. There is a risk of damage.

  Therefore, the above problem is solved by providing an increment (or decrement) function that can rewrite the stored value only in the direction of increasing (or decreasing) the value stored in the IC. In this case, whether or not the increment (or decrement) function is working effectively is determined by writing a value smaller (larger) than the current ink use amount (or remaining amount), and then storing the IC. This can be done by reading the value and checking whether it has been updated.

  However, at this time, if the minimum value (or the maximum value) that can be taken as the initial value of the ink usage (or remaining amount) is set, the ink usage is 0 with a new ink cartridge. % (The ink remaining amount is 100%), the increment (or decrement) function cannot be checked.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an increment (or decrement) function that can be rewritten only in a direction in which a stored value is increased (or decreased). In such a case, a technique for confirming that the increment (or decrement) function works effectively is provided.

  A printer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a replaceable part that includes a storage device having an increment function that enables writing only a value that is larger than a currently stored value, and in which the minimum value is stored as an initial value in the storage device; Read means for reading stored values stored in the storage device when the replaceable part is mounted, and when the value read by the read means is the initial value, the initial value is stored in the storage device. Write means for writing a predetermined value greater than the value and whether or not the increment function is working effectively based on the execution result of the write request after requesting the storage device to write a value smaller than the predetermined value. Verifying means for determining whether or not.

  Thereby, it is possible to always check the operation of the increment function.

  In a preferred embodiment, the replaceable part contains a consumable. When the consumable is used, the printer updates the stored value accordingly, and if the value read by the reading means is not the initial value, the read value and And a means for calculating a consumption amount of the consumable based on the predetermined value.

  The replaceable part of the printer according to one embodiment of the present invention is capable of writing only a storage device in which a minimum value is stored as an initial value of a storage value and a value larger than the current storage value stored in the storage device. And an increment circuit that updates the stored value to a predetermined value larger than the initial value when the stored value is an initial value when the replaceable part is mounted on the printer, A printer replacement part requests a printer having a function of determining whether or not the increment circuit is working effectively based on a result of writing after requesting to write a value smaller than the predetermined value to the storage device. It is what is used.

  If the printer has a decrement function that can write only a value smaller than the current stored value instead of the increment function, the initial value is set to the maximum value and a predetermined value smaller than the initial value is written. Thereafter, a write request having a value larger than the predetermined value may be made to perform verification.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration inside the printer 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The printer 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12 that stores various programs executed by the CPU 11, a RAM 13 that is used as a temporary storage area when the CPU 11 executes programs, and the status of the printer 1 and various setting information. EEPROM 14 which is a non-volatile storage medium to be stored, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 15 for controlling the printer 1 including control of a motor and a display panel (not shown), control of a print head, and the like, and instructions of the ASIC 15 Driver ICs 16 and 16 that drive a motor (not shown) based on the above, a reset IC 17 that detects the rise of the power supply and resets the CPU 11, and a carriage 18.

  The carriage 18 includes a print head 19 that ejects ink, and an ink cartridge 2 including an IC 3 that is a replaceable component.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of the IC 3. The IC 3 includes a memory cell 39 that stores predetermined information, and an increment update circuit 30 that controls reading and writing with respect to the memory cell 39.

  The increment update circuit 30 has an increment function that enables writing only a value larger than the stored value currently stored in the memory cell 39. The increment update circuit 30 includes registers 31 and 33 and a comparator 35. And these perform the operation | movement which is demonstrated below, and implement | achieve an increment function.

  In other words, when there is an update instruction for the memory cell 39 that specifies a value to be written to the memory cell 39 from the ASIC 15, the specified write value is first stored in the register 31. At this time, the stored value currently stored from the memory cell 39 is read and stored in the register 33. When the write signal is input to the comparator 35, the comparator 35 compares the write value stored in the register 31 with the stored value stored in the register 33, and whichever is greater Is output and stored in the register 33. Then, the value stored in the register 33 is written into the memory cell 39.

  By using the increment update circuit 30 as described above, the stored value of the memory cell 39 cannot be rewritten to a value smaller than the current stored value even when there is an instruction to update the memory cell 39. In other words, the increment update circuit 30 realizes an increment function that enables writing only a value larger than the currently stored value.

  Note that the increment update circuit 30 can also be configured as a decrement update circuit that can write only a value smaller than the stored value currently stored in the memory cell 39.

  Here, the information stored in the memory cell 39 includes, for example, a value indicating the amount of ink used or remaining in the ink cartridge 2, a value indicating the amount of waste ink discarded, the number of printed lines, the number of printed sheets, and the like. It may be a value indicating the operation amount of the printer 1 and a value indicating a usage time during which the printer 1 is powered on. When the printer 1 is used, the information is updated by the CPU 11 by executing a predetermined program according to the usage status.

  Further, depending on the type of information stored in the memory cell 39, it may be determined whether to employ an increment update circuit or a decrement update circuit. That is, in the case of information whose value increases during normal use (for example, the amount of ink used), an increment update circuit is adopted, and on the contrary, information whose value decreases during normal use ( For example, in the case of ink remaining amount), it is preferable to employ a decrement update circuit.

  In the following embodiment, a case where the ink usage is stored in percentage in the memory cell 39 will be described as an example. In this case, the value that can be taken as the amount of ink used is 0 to 100 (%). Therefore, in the case of an unused ink cartridge 2, the initial value stored in the memory cell 39 is 0 (minimum value).

  FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are flowcharts showing a procedure of processing performed when the CPU 11 executes a predetermined program and controls the IC 3 via the ASIC 15 in the printer having the above configuration.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing for setting a predetermined value (offset value) larger than the initial value as the amount of ink used when an unused ink cartridge is installed in the printer.

  When the ink cartridge 2 is mounted on the carriage 18, the CPU 11 detects it (S11).

  When the mounting of the ink cartridge 2 is detected, the current stored value is read from the memory cell 39 of the IC 3 (S11). Then, it is determined whether or not the read value is the initial value 0 (S13). When the read value is 0 (S13: Yes), the predetermined offset value X is stored in the memory cell (S14), and when the read value is not 0 (S13: No), Step S14 is skipped.

  As a result, the initial value of the unused ink cartridge is replaced from 0 to the offset value. As a result, the following verify process can be executed even for an unused ink cartridge.

  The offset value setting process in FIG. 3 may be performed by a control circuit (not shown) in the IC 3. At this time, a control circuit (not shown) in the IC 3 may set an offset value when it is determined that the installed printer 1 is a printer of a model that performs verification.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a verify process for confirming whether or not the increment update circuit 30 is operating effectively.

  This verification processing is performed, for example, when the CPU 11 is reset by the reset IC 17 that detects the power-on of the printer 1 or following the above-described offset processing.

  First, the currently stored value is read from the memory cell 39 and stored in the variable A (S21). Next, the memory cell 39 is instructed to write a value smaller than the read value, for example, a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the variable A (S22). Thereafter, the stored value is read again from the memory cell 39 and stored in the variable B (S23).

  At this time, since an instruction to write a value smaller than the current stored value to the memory cell 39 is given in step S22, if the increment function of the increment update circuit 30 is working effectively, this update is performed. Should not be broken. That is, if the increment function is working effectively, the update is not performed in step S2, and therefore, the variable B that is read after that and the variable A that is the initial value should match. On the other hand, if the increment function of the increment update circuit 30 is not working effectively, the memory cell 39 is updated to a value smaller than the value of the variable A in step S2. Therefore, the value of variable A and the value of variable B do not match.

  Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the increment function of the increment update circuit 30 is working effectively, the value of the variable A is compared with the value of the variable B (S24). If the value of variable A matches the value of variable B, as described above, since the increment function is working effectively, variable C is set to “1” indicating that the increment function is valid. (S25). On the other hand, if the value of the variable A and the value of the variable B do not match, the increment function is not working effectively, so that the variable C is set to “0” indicating that the increment function is not valid (S26).

  Next, the variable A is written back to the memory cell 39 (S27).

  Here, if “1” is set in the variable C, that is, if the increment function is operating effectively, the offset X added by the offset setting process is subtracted from the value of the variable A to obtain the actual value. The ink usage amount is calculated (S28). If the actual ink use amount is smaller than the maximum value 100 (%) (S30: No), the printer 1 can be used continuously.

  On the other hand, when “1” is not set in the variable C in step S28, that is, when the increment function is not operating effectively, and in step S30, the ink usage amount is set to 100 (%) or more. If it is (S30: Yes), an error is displayed and the operation of the printer is terminated (S31). This is because in these cases, the printer 1 may not operate normally for some reason.

  Thereby, the operation check of the increment function or the decrement function can be surely executed.

  In the above-described embodiment, an unused ink cartridge 2 is set in the memory cell 39 only after being mounted in the printer 1, but the offset value X is set in advance in the memory cell 39 as an initial value. It may be. In this case, the offset value setting process shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when an ink cartridge in which an offset value is set as an initial value in the memory cell 39 is installed in a printer that does not have the verify function described in this embodiment, the amount of ink used is counted before the ink is used. , The apparent initial value seems not to be zero. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the initial value of the memory cell 39 is 0 to the last, so the apparent initial value when used in a printer that does not have a verify function is 0.

  The above-described embodiments of the present invention are examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration inside a printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram of IC3. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of an offset setting process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a verification process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 2 ... Ink cartridge, 3 ... IC, 30 ... Increment update circuit, 31, 33 ... Register, 35 ... Comparator, 39 ... Memory cell.

Claims (1)

A printer system comprising a printer and an ink cartridge of the printer,
The ink cartridge is
A storage device in which a minimum value is stored as an initial value of the stored value;
An increment circuit that allows writing only a value larger than the current stored value stored in the storage device;
With
The printer is
A reading means for reading a stored value stored in the storage device when the ink cartridge is mounted;
Means for updating the stored value to a predetermined value larger than the initial value after reading the initial value by the reading means;
After updating the stored value to a predetermined value larger than the initial value, the storage device is requested to write a value smaller than the predetermined value, and the increment circuit is enabled based on the execution result of the write request. A verification means to determine whether or not it is working,
With
The stored value is a value indicating the amount of ink used,
The verifying unit is a printer system that performs the determination after the ink cartridge is mounted in the printer system.

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