JP7631493B2 - Control device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

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

Information processing devices are known to have a function that detects the insertion of a paper feed cassette and automatically displays a registration screen for that paper feed cassette. In Patent Document 1, the cassette for which the paper type is to be set is determined based on the open/closed state of the cassette and the presence or absence of paper in the cassette.

JP2004-34711

However, in the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which a setting screen for paper feed cassette information is displayed when a paper feed cassette is inserted, if the same paper feed cassette is inserted or removed again while a registration screen for a certain paper feed cassette is being displayed, the registration screen is displayed again. If the user is operating the registration screen, a new registration screen for the same paper feed cassette is displayed on top of the screen being operated, which reduces usability.

In addition, if there are multiple paper feed cassettes, if different paper feed cassettes are inserted or removed in succession while the registration screen for one paper feed cassette is displayed, the registration screens for the multiple paper feed cassettes will appear alternately each time a paper feed cassette is inserted or removed, reducing user usability.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to improve usability when setting information on a recording medium.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing 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 display control means for displaying a first screen on the display unit as a screen related to the paper settings of the first paper unit based on a user operation on the first paper unit, and displaying a second screen on the display unit as a screen related to the paper settings of the second paper unit based on a user operation on the second paper unit. When the user operates the first paper unit while the second screen is displayed based on the user operation on the second paper unit, the display control means displays the first screen based on the operation, and further erases the first screen based on a user instruction to a specific item in the first screen, and accepts a user instruction for the paper settings of the second paper unit via the second screen, which has become user-instructible without a user operation on the second paper unit after the first screen has disappeared, and displays a second size selection screen for selecting information regarding the size of the paper based on the user instruction to the third area of the second screen, and displays a second type selection screen for selecting information regarding the type of paper based on the user instruction to the fourth area of the second screen.

The present invention can improve usability when setting information on a recording medium.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an external appearance of a printing device according to a first embodiment. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a paper transport unit of the printing device according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of a paper feed cassette detection handler of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for paper information in the display process according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of a display process according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart of a display process according to the first embodiment. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating user actions and screen displays in the control of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is another diagram illustrating a user operation and a screen display in the control of the first embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating user actions and screen displays in the control of the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a priority setting screen in the display process according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a priority table in the display process according to the third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart of a display process according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a stack table in a display process according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a priority table in the display process according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a paper transport portion according to another embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the relative arrangement of each component of the device used in this embodiment, the device shape, etc. are merely examples and are not limited to these. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a printing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a Multi Function Printer (MFP) having a reading function (scanner) is used as an example of the printing device, but the printing device is not limited to this and may be, for example, a device having only a printing function.

In FIG. 1, the printing device 100 has a platen 101, a platen cover 102, multiple paper feed cassettes (paper feed cassette 1, paper feed cassette 2), and a paper output tray 105.

The document table 101 is a transparent glass table on which a document is placed to be read by the scanner. The document cover 102 is a cover for preventing the reading light from leaking to the outside when reading with the scanner, and is configured to cover the document table 101. Each paper feed cassette (paper feed cassette 103, paper feed cassette 104) can hold paper of various sizes and types. The paper set in the paper feed cassettes 103-104 is transported one sheet at a time to the printing section, and once printed by the printing section, it is discharged from the paper output tray 105. Note that in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a device equipped with two paper feed cassettes has been described as an example, but the number of paper feed cassettes may be one or more, and may be one or three or more.

The printing method is not limited to printing images by an inkjet method using liquid ink for printing images, which will be described later. Solid ink may be used as the recording agent, and various methods such as electrophotography using toner and dye sublimation methods can be adopted. Furthermore, the printing method is not limited to color recording using recording agents of multiple colors, and may be monochrome recording using only black (including gray). Furthermore, the printing is not limited to printing visible images, and may be printing of invisible or difficult-to-see images, or printing of various things other than general images, such as wiring patterns, physical patterns in parts manufacturing, and DNA base sequences. In other words, as long as the recording agent can be applied to the recording material, it can be applied to various types of printing devices.

In addition, in this embodiment, paper is used as an example of the recording medium, but the material of the recording medium is not limited to paper, and various materials that can be printed on can be used.

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

The recording paper S1 loaded in the paper feed cassette 201 is picked up by the paper feed roller 204 driven by a transport motor (not shown), sent between the transport rollers 205 and 206, and transported by the transport rollers 205 and 206. The recording paper S2 transported by the transport rollers 205 and 206 is transported in a U-turn along a transport path including the paper transport guides 207 and 208, and sent to the transport rollers 209 and 210. Although not shown, a paper feed roller is provided so that the recording paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 202 can be picked up, and a transport roller is provided so that the picked-up recording paper can be transported. As a result, the recording paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 202 is picked up and transported to the transport path.

The recording paper S2 is then transported over a platen 211. A carriage 213 carrying a print head 212 is provided at a position facing the platen 211 with the recording paper S2 in between. The carriage 213 is driven to reciprocate along a guide rail 214 by a carriage motor (not shown). A drive pulse is applied to the print head 212 to form a recording image on the recording paper S2. The recording paper S2 on which the image has been formed is further transported by a transport roller 209 and a paper discharge roller 215 and a paper discharge roller 216 provided downstream in the transport direction from the transport roller 210, and is discharged to a paper discharge tray 203. The recording paper S2 on which the image has been formed, i.e., the printed recording paper S2, is stacked in the paper discharge tray 203.

The carriage 213 is provided with a paper sensor 218, which can detect whether or not recording paper S2 is present on the platen 211. The paper sensor 218 is, for example, a reflective optical sensor, and the above-mentioned detection can be performed by acquiring the output level of the paper sensor 218. In this embodiment, since the paper sensor 218 is provided on the carriage 213, the edge position of the recording paper S2 being transported onto the platen 211 can be detected by acquiring the output level of the paper sensor 218 while moving the carriage 213.

In addition, cassette sensors 219 and 220 are provided on paper feed cassettes 201 and 202, respectively, and can detect when a paper feed cassette is inserted or removed.

3 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. The printing apparatus 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.

The CPU 301 is a central processing unit in the form of a microprocessor (microcomputer) that controls the operation of the entire printing device 100 by executing programs and starting up hardware. The program memory 303 is a ROM that stores programs executed by the CPU 301 and fixed data required for various operations of the printing device 100. The data memory 304 is made up of RAM and is used as a work area for the CPU 301, as a temporary storage area for various received data, and to store various setting data. The data memory 304 is used for purposes such as a work memory 305 that the CPU 301 uses when executing a control program, and an image memory 306 that stores image data to be formed on recording paper.

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

The CPU 301 can control various motors that drive the mechanisms of the printing device 100 via the motor control circuit 309. The transport motor 310 drives the feed roller 203, transport rollers 205, 206, 209, 210, and discharge rollers 215, 216 to transport the recording paper from the feed tray to the discharge tray 203. The carriage motor 311 (referred to as the CR motor in FIG. 3) drives the carriage 213 back and forth. The recovery motor 312 drives the head recovery mechanism, and executes recovery operations to keep the print head 212 in an appropriate state by controlling it in synchronization with the drive of the carriage 213.

The CPU 301 can control the print head 212 via the 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 can obtain the output voltage of the optical sensor 316 of the paper sensor 218. The CPU 301 can also 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 when a user inserts or removes a paper feed cassette into the printing device 100, and the CPU 301 can acquire this detection via the sensor control circuit 314.

The CPU 301 controls an operation panel 318 provided on the outer surface of the printing device 100 via a panel control circuit 317. The operation panel 318 has, for example, a group of hard keys 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 also monitor user operations on the group of hard keys 319 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 image of an original placed on the platen of the scanner 325.

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

Here, we will explain the control that occurs when detecting that a paper feed cassette has been inserted into the printing device 100 and displaying a setting screen for the corresponding paper information (information about the recording medium). Based on the paper information set on the setting screen, various operations of the printing device, such as print control and transport control, are performed.

The CPU 301 of the printing device 100 executes a paper feed cassette detection process at a predetermined cycle using a cycle handler of the real-time OS in the program memory 303. The cycle for executing the paper feed cassette detection process is determined in advance, and a time sufficient for control by inserting and removing the paper feed cassette is set. In this embodiment, the cycle is set to 300 ms, but the cycle is not limited to this. When the cassette sensor 219 or 220 detects the insertion of a paper feed cassette, the detection is notified to the panel task of the CPU that controls the operation panel 318. In this embodiment, since there are multiple paper feed cassettes, this process 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. 4. FIG. 4 shows the flow of the process in which the CPU 301 loads a program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes it. The paper feed cassette detection process shown in FIG. 4 is performed once per cycle. When the paper feed cassette detection process starts, in S401 it is determined whether the insertion of cassette 1 has been detected.

If it is determined that the insertion of cassette 1 has been detected, the cassette insertion is notified to the CPU 301 (S402), and the process proceeds to S403. If the insertion of cassette 1 has not been detected, the process proceeds directly to S403. In S403, it is determined whether the insertion of cassette 2 has been detected. If it is determined that the insertion of cassette 2 has been detected, the cassette insertion is notified to the panel task (S404), and the process ends.
If the insertion of cassette 1 is not detected, the process ends. In this way, when the insertion of cassette 1 or cassette 2 is detected, the panel task is notified, and if no notification is given, the process ends.

When the cassette sensor notifies the panel task that a paper feed cassette has been inserted, a paper information setting screen such as that shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display device 320 of the printing device 100 and input from the user is accepted. The user operates this setting screen to input information about the paper loaded in the inserted paper feed cassette.

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

Here, the CPU 301 controls the display of the display device 320 via the panel control circuit 317. In this embodiment, the operation panel 318 is a touch panel, but is not limited to this and may be a normal LCD or other display that does not have 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 a change in electrostatic capacitance caused by contact or approach of a finger or a conductive medium. 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 the area next to size is touched, subwindow 502 is displayed covering setting screen 501 as shown in FIG. 5(b). The user can touch a specific size in subwindow 502 to select the size. When the area next to type is touched, subwindow 503 is displayed covering display screen 501 as shown in FIG. 5(c). The user can touch a specific type in subwindow 503 to select the paper type. Note that since there is a limit to the number of subwindows 502 and 503 that can be displayed, if there are many sizes or types in the list, they are displayed so that the user can select them using a pull-down menu. In addition, in the default state before the user's operation on the setting screen, the size and type displayed are the size and type that were previously set.

When the registration button is touched on the setting screen in FIG. 5(a), the user input is accepted and the setting of the paper information for paper feed cassette 1 is completed. Note that in this embodiment, the setting screen 501 displays the registration button, but it may also be provided with a registration button and a cancel button. In this case, the setting of the paper information for paper feed cassette 1 is completed even if the cancel button is touched.

When setting paper information for paper feed cassette 2, the screen is the same as in Figure 5, except that instead of "Please register paper information for cassette 1," "Please register paper information for cassette 2" is displayed, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

The method of displaying the setting screen is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5. For example, in FIG. 5, a registration button is displayed, but instead of displaying this, the setting may be completed in response to pressing a button provided outside the display device 320 of the operation panel 318. Also, a forward button may be displayed, and the setting may be completed based on detection of touching the forward button.

Furthermore, each paper feed cassette is assigned a priority. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the same paper is loaded in both paper feed cassettes, and the priority of the paper feed cassette with the higher throughput is set to be higher. In this embodiment, paper feed cassette 1, which is closer to the transport roller, has a higher throughput than paper feed cassette 2, so the priority of paper feed cassette 1 is set to be higher.

Now, with reference to FIG. 6, we will explain the screen display control when another paper feed cassette is inserted while the paper information setting screen for the paper feed cassette is being displayed. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an overview of the display process according to this embodiment. In FIG. 6, the CPU 301 loads a program stored in the program memory 303 into the data memory 304 and executes it.

It is assumed that in S601, a setting screen for paper information is displayed on the display unit of the printing device 100.
At this time, the display of the setting screen may be executed based on the detection of the insertion of any paper feed cassette, or may be executed based on the setting and registration of paper information being instructed by user operation.

After that, when the insertion of a paper feed cassette is detected in step S602, the operation is changed according to the priority of the paper feed cassette whose insertion was detected. Specifically, the display method is determined by comparing the priority of the paper feed cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed on the display unit (paper feed cassette 1 in the case of FIG. 5) with the priority of the paper feed cassette whose insertion was detected.

The first pattern is when the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen is inserted again 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 being displayed (S603), the registration screen for paper information corresponding to the detection is not displayed (S604). The remaining pattern is when a paper feed cassette different from the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen is inserted in a printing device having multiple paper feed cassettes. If the paper feed cassette detected to have been inserted while the setting screen is being displayed has a lower priority than the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen (S605), the display operation for the detection is postponed, and the display of the current setting screen continues (S606). On the other hand, if the paper feed cassette inserted while the setting screen is being displayed has a higher priority than the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen (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 for the inserted paper feed cassette.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that these three patterns of processing are implemented in combination, but they may be implemented independently. Also, in this embodiment, if the priority of the paper feed cassette corresponding to the setting screen being displayed on the display unit is the same as the priority of the paper feed cassette whose insertion has been detected, this is the case when the paper feed cassettes are the same. However, when three or more paper feed cassettes are included, there are cases where the paper feed cassettes are different even if the priority of the paper feed cassettes is the same. In this case, the display operation can be postponed, as in S606.

Figure 7 is an example of a flowchart showing the display process shown in Figure 6 in more detail. In S701, a paper information setting screen is displayed for the paper feed cassette. If the insertion of multiple paper feed cassettes has been detected, the setting screen displayed here shows the paper feed cassette with the highest priority among the currently detected paper feed cassettes.

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

In S703, it is determined whether the insertion of a paper feed cassette has been detected. If the insertion of a paper feed cassette has not been detected, the process returns to S702. This monitors the state of the device until a new insertion of a paper feed cassette is detected. On the other hand, if the insertion of a paper feed cassette is detected in S703, it is determined whether the paper feed cassette is the same as the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen or the suspended paper feed cassette (the paper feed cassette on hold) (step S704). In this embodiment, since different priorities are set for each paper feed cassette, the priority is used to determine whether they are the same. Note that even if three or more paper feed cassettes are provided, if different priorities are set for each, the priority can be used to determine whether the paper feed cassettes are the same. Note that the determination of whether the inserted paper feed cassette is the same or not is not limited to this, and for example, it may be determined whether the inserted paper feed cassette is the same or not based on whether the source of the notification of the insertion of the paper feed cassette is the same.

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, and the display of the paper information setting screen continues. As a result, the setting screen for the same paper feed 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 it is determined whether the priority of the paper feed cassette inserted later is higher than the priority of the paper feed cassette corresponding to the currently displayed setting screen. If the priority of the paper feed cassette inserted later is higher (Yes S in S705), the paper feed cassette is changed to the current cassette, and the paper feed cassette of the setting screen that has been displayed until now is put into a suspended state (reserved state) (S706). That is, the setting screen for the paper information of that 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 lower (No in S705), the setting screen for the paper information for that paper feed cassette is put into a suspended state (S707), the current screen display is continued, and the process returns to S701. In this way, based on the judgment result, it is determined whether to suspend the currently displayed setting screen or the setting screen for the inserted paper feed cassette. Here, in this embodiment, the setting screens displayed on the display device 320 are switched, but this is not limited to this. For example, a setting screen corresponding to a paper feed cassette with a higher priority may be displayed on top of the setting screen already being displayed, thereby putting the already displayed setting screen into a suspended state. Then, when the setting of the setting screen corresponding to the paper feed cassette with the higher priority is completed, the setting screen disappears, and the already displayed setting screen is displayed at the top.

When the setting is completed as determined in S702, a determination is made in S708 as to whether any paper feed cassettes have been suspended. If there are no suspended paper feed cassettes (No in S708), there is no more paper information setting screen to display, and the process ends. If there is a suspended cassette (Yes in S708), that 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.

Figure 8 is a diagram that explains the control when the same paper feed cassette is reinserted, focusing on the user's actions and the screen display on the display unit. In this embodiment, the paper information setting screen for the paper feed cassette is displayed on the display unit of the device when the user inserts the paper feed cassette, not when the user removes the paper feed cassette. Note that the paper information setting screen may also be displayed when the user removes the paper feed cassette. If the user then inserts or removes the same paper feed cassette again, the setting screen is not displayed on the screen. In other words, if the same paper feed cassette is reinserted, the setting screen is not displayed again.

Figure 9 is a diagram that explains the control when a different paper feed cassette is inserted while the setting screen is displayed, focusing on the user's actions and the screen display on the display unit. Here, we will explain the case where a device has two paper feed cassettes, paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2, and paper feed cassette 1 is inserted and removed in that order.

Figure 9 shows the process when paper feed cassette 1 has a high priority. When the user inserts paper feed cassette 1, the device's display unit displays the paper information setting screen for that paper feed cassette 1. If the user then inserts or removes paper feed cassette 2, the screen display is suspended because the priority of paper feed cassette 2 is lower than the priority of paper feed cassette 1, which corresponds to the currently displayed setting screen. Then, when the setting of paper feed cassette 1 is completed, the setting screen for paper feed cassette 2, which was suspended, is displayed.

In this embodiment, while the setting screen for information on a paper feed cassette is displayed, a display operation based on detection of a new insertion by the same paper feed cassette can be ignored. Also, while the setting screen for a paper feed cassette with a high priority is displayed, a display operation based on detection of insertion of a paper feed cassette with a lower priority than that paper feed cassette can be postponed. Furthermore, when the setting screen for information on a paper feed cassette with a low priority is displayed, a display operation based on detection of insertion of a paper feed cassette with a higher priority than that paper feed cassette can be inserted in between. This prevents the user from making the same settings multiple times, and because the setting screen for the paper feed cassette with the highest priority is always displayed, excellent usability can be achieved. Also, because the setting screen is displayed according to the priority, the order in which the paper feed cassettes should be set becomes clear.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the priority of each paper feed cassette is determined based on the print throughput. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the priority of each paper feed cassette is determined based on the frequency of use. Note that 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 and the priority may be determined.

Depending on the printing device, for example, the paper that corresponds to each paper feed cassette, i.e., the paper that can be stored in each paper feed cassette, may differ. Specifically, for example, paper feed cassette 1 may correspond to small-sized special paper such as photo paper, and paper feed cassette 2 may correspond to regular paper and large-sized paper in addition to small-sized special paper such as photo paper. In this case, it is assumed that paper feed cassette 2, which corresponds to all types of paper, will be used frequently. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to improve usability, the priority of paper feed cassette 2 that is assumed to be used frequently by users is set high in advance. Note that the same reference numerals are used to identify the same parts as in embodiment 1, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

Figure 10 is a diagram that explains the control when a different paper feed cassette is inserted while the settings screen is displayed, focusing on the user's actions and the screen display on the display unit. Here, we explain an example of a case in which paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2 are inserted and removed in that order in a device that has two paper feed cassettes, paper feed cassette 1 and paper feed cassette 2. The difference from Figure 9 is that paper feed cassette 2 has a higher priority.

When the user inserts paper feed cassette 1, the display unit of the device displays a paper information setting screen for that paper feed cassette 1. If the user then inserts paper feed cassette 2, the screen display of paper feed cassette 2 is interrupted and the screen display of paper feed cassette 1 that was being displayed is suspended, since the priority of paper feed cassette 2 is higher than the priority of paper feed cassette 1 that corresponds to the currently displayed setting screen. Then, when the setting of paper feed cassette 2 is completed, the setting screen for paper feed cassette 1 that was suspended is displayed again.

In this embodiment, the same effect as in embodiment 1 can be obtained.

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

(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments, the priority is preset in the printing device, but in this embodiment, the priority can be arbitrarily set by the user. Note that the same reference numerals are used to designate the same components as in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

Figure 11 is an example of a priority setting screen displayed on display device 320. This priority setting screen may be displayed based on a user operation, or may be displayed at a specified timing such as initial startup or restart of the device. The user sets a priority for each paper feed cassette via the setting screen displayed on display device 320. CPU 301 creates a correspondence table between paper feed cassettes and priorities in response to this input. An example of the table is shown in Figure 12. The created table is referenced as a lookup table when making the determination in S705 of Figure 7.

In this embodiment, the same effects as in embodiment 1 can be obtained. Furthermore, since the priority can be changed arbitrarily, it is possible to set the priority to better suit the use case of each user according to how the user uses the device, thereby improving usability.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the case where there are two paper feed cassettes has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also accommodate three or more paper feed cassettes. In this embodiment, the case where three or more paper feed cassettes are provided will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 15. Note that the same reference numerals are used to designate the same components as in the first embodiment, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

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

In FIG. 13, in S706 and S707, the paper feed cassette with the lowest priority is suspended, but if three or more paper feed cassettes are supported, multiple paper feed cassettes will be suspended. For this reason, in this embodiment, an area is prepared in RAM to store the suspended paper feed cassettes. The suspended paper feed cassettes are stacked in RAM together with their own priority. FIG. 13(a) is a conceptual diagram. Here, cassette 1, cassette 3, and cassette 2 are stacked in this order, with cassette 3 having the highest priority, followed by cassette 2 and cassette 1. This priority may be set arbitrarily by the user as in embodiment 3, in which case the priority table shown in FIG. 12 is created in a form that supports multiple cassettes as shown in FIG. 15.

If it is determined in S708 that a paper feed cassette has been suspended or set, the suspended paper feed cassette is changed to the current cassette in step S1409. At this time, the paper feed cassette with the highest priority is searched for among the stacked paper feed cassettes, and this is made the current cassette. That is, in the example of FIG. 14(a), cassette 3 is changed to the current cassette and is removed from the stack, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 14(b).

In this embodiment, the same effect as in embodiment 1 can be obtained even when there are three or more paper feed cassettes.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the priority of the paper feed cassettes may be set in advance in the device and may be changed by the user.

In the above embodiment, the paper feed unit is described as a paper feed cassette, but a paper feed unit other than the paper feed cassette may be used. Examples of the paper feed unit include an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) and a manual feed unit. The printing device shown in FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of FIG. 2 to which an ASF has been added, and since the parts other than the paper feed unit are the same, a 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 the ASF, recording paper is loaded on the ASF tray 1701 and transported. The opening and closing of the inner cover 1703, which opens and closes around the cover shaft 1702, can be treated as equivalent to the insertion and removal of a paper feed cassette. In other words, the operation of closing the inner cover 1703 is treated as equivalent to the operation of inserting a paper feed cassette. The opening and closing of the inner cover 1703 is detected by the ASF sensor 1704. Sensor 1704 has the same configuration as cassette sensors 219 and 220, for example. The priority is set highest for ASF, for example, because special paper is often loaded in ASF when the user wants to use it. As for the remaining paper feed cassettes, similar to the first embodiment, the priority of paper feed cassette 1, which has a higher throughput, is set higher than that of paper feed cassette 2. In other words, the priority of the paper feed units is set in the order of ASF, paper feed cassette 1, and paper feed cassette 2. Of course, similar to the second embodiment, the priority may be determined based on frequency of use, other conditions, or the user.

In addition, if there is only one paper feed cassette, the system is controlled so that a new registration screen for the same paper feed cassette is not displayed on top of the screen being operated.

In the above-described embodiment, the printing device is equipped with a control device, but this is not limited to the above. When a setting screen is displayed on the display unit of an external device having a printer driver connected to the printing device in FIG. 1, or when a setting screen is displayed on the display unit of the printing device in response to an instruction from the external device, the external device becomes the control device.

The above-described embodiments can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiments are 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 and executes the program. The program may be executed by one computer, or by multiple computers working in conjunction with each other. It is not necessary to realize all of the above-described processes by software, and some or all of the processes may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC. The CPU is also not limited to one that performs all processes by one CPU, and multiple CPUs may perform processes in cooperation with each other as appropriate.

Claims (24)

a first paper unit and a second paper unit different from the first paper unit for setting paper;
a display control means for displaying a first screen on a display unit as a screen related to paper settings for the first paper unit based on a user operation on the first paper unit, and displaying a second screen on the display unit as a screen related to paper settings for the second paper unit based on a user operation on the second paper unit;
Equipped with
When the first paper unit is operated by a user while the second screen is displayed based on a user operation on the second paper unit, the display control means displays the first screen based on the operation, and further, erases the first screen based on a user instruction for a specific item in the first screen, and accepts a user instruction for paper settings of the second paper unit via the second screen, which has become user-instructable without a user operation on the second paper unit after the first screen has been erased;
A printing device characterized in that a second size selection screen for selecting information regarding the size of paper is displayed based on a user instruction in a third area of the second screen, and a second type selection screen for selecting information regarding the type of paper is displayed based on a user instruction in a fourth area of the second screen. The printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the paper settings for the first paper unit on the first screen are completed based on a user instruction for a specific item on the first screen. The printing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the display control means erases the first screen based on a user instruction for the specified item in the first screen. The printing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the specified item in the first screen is a registration button. The printing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the specified item in the first screen is a cancel button. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, when the second paper unit is operated by a user while the first screen is displayed, the display control means does not accept user instructions regarding paper settings for the second paper unit via the second screen before the first screen is turned off. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that when the second paper unit is operated by a user while the first screen is displayed, the display control means does not change the display of the display unit displaying the first screen based on the operation of the second paper unit before the first screen is turned off. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, when the first screen is displayed and the first paper unit is operated again by the user, the display control means does not change the display of the display unit that is displaying the first screen based on the re-operation. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, when the second screen is displayed and the second paper unit is operated again by the user, the display control means does not change the display of the display unit displaying the second screen based on the re-operation. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the first paper unit is set to have a higher priority than the second paper unit. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the throughput when recording is performed on paper fed and transported from the first paper unit is higher than the throughput when recording is performed on paper fed and transported from the second paper unit. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the distance on the transport path from the first paper unit to the specified transport roller is shorter than the distance on the transport path from the second paper unit to the specified transport roller. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, when the second paper unit is operated by a 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 device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that when the first screen is displayed based on a user operation on the first paper unit, information regarding the paper fed from the second paper unit is not displayed as the paper setting for the second paper unit. a first detection means for detecting that the first paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing device;
a second detection means for detecting that the second paper unit has been inserted into a predetermined portion of the printing device;
Further equipped with
The display control means
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.
A printing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that 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 erased, and even if the second detection means does not detect the insertion of the second paper unit, user instructions regarding the paper settings of the second paper unit are accepted via the second screen, which can be given by the user without user operation of the second paper unit after the first screen is erased. a first detection means for detecting that the first paper unit has been removed from a predetermined portion of the printing device;
a second detection means for detecting that the second paper unit has been removed from a predetermined portion of the printing device;
Further equipped with
The display control means
When the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been removed, 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 removed, the second screen is displayed on the display unit based on the detection.
A printing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that when the first detection means detects that the first paper unit has been removed while the second screen is displayed, the first screen is displayed based on the detection, and further, the first screen is erased, and even if the second detection means does not detect that the second paper unit has been removed, user instructions regarding the paper settings of the second paper unit are accepted via the second screen, which can be given by the user without user operation of the second paper unit after the first screen is erased. the first screen is a screen for registering information regarding a size and a type of paper to be fed from the first paper unit,
17. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second screen is a screen for registering information relating to a size and a type of paper fed from the second paper unit. The first screen displays information about the size and type of paper that was previously set and is to be fed from the first paper unit,
18. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the second screen displays information relating to a previously set size and type of paper to be fed from the second paper unit. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that a first size selection screen for selecting information regarding paper size is displayed based on a user instruction in the first area of the first screen, and a first type selection screen for selecting information regarding paper type is displayed based on a user instruction in the second area of the first screen. The printing device according to claim 19, characterized in that, after a paper size is selected on the first size selection screen and a paper type is selected on the first type selection screen, when a user instruction is given to a registration button, which is the specified item on the first screen, the paper settings for the first paper unit on the first screen are completed based on the user instruction, and the first screen disappears. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that 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 any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that when a user instruction is given to a specific item in the first screen, information about the paper is registered in the first paper unit. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 22, further comprising a printing means for printing on the paper. The printing device according to claim 23, characterized in that the printing means prints on the paper using an inkjet method.

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