JP2012176575A - Printer and sheet feeding method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to save the user the trouble of setting a cassette to be fed and to consume the old print medium first.
SOLUTION: A plurality of cassettes for stacking print media, print medium detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the print medium in the cassette for each cassette, and cassette loading detection for detecting loading of the cassette for each of the cassettes Means, presence / absence information storage means for storing presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the print medium for each cassette, mounting history information storage means for storing mounting history information indicating mounting histories of the plurality of cassettes, and paper feed targets When it is detected that the print medium has run out in the cassette, the cassette that has been mounted the oldest based on the presence / absence information and the mounting history information and in which the print medium is present is replaced with the new paper feed. Cassette setting means for setting as a target cassette.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer and a paper feeding method.

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that detects the presence or absence of a sheet in a sheet feeding cassette is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3817795

  Patent Document 1 describes that an operator is notified that there is no paper in a paper feed cassette. In a printer with multiple paper cassettes, if you want to print more than the maximum number of sheets that can be stacked in one paper cassette, an out-of-paper error will occur each time the paper cassette that has supplied paper runs out of paper. After the user cancels the error, it is necessary to refill the paper (or set another cassette with paper as the cassette to be fed) and reprint the remaining number of sheets. It was.

By the way, when the user does not designate a paper feed cassette, a cassette to be used as a default is predetermined as one of the cassettes. In that case, only the paper set in the cassette designated as the default is consumed quickly, and the paper set in other cassettes is hardly consumed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to save the user the trouble of setting a cassette to be fed, and to consume an old print medium first.

  In order to solve the above problems, a printer according to the present invention includes a plurality of cassettes on which print media are stacked, a print medium detection unit that detects the presence / absence of the print medium in each cassette, and mounting of the cassettes on the cassette. Cassette mounting detection means for detecting each of the cassettes, presence / absence information storage means for storing presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the print medium for each cassette, and mounting history information indicating mounting history information of a plurality of the cassettes When it is detected that there is no print medium in the history information storage means and the cassette to be fed, the oldest mounted based on the presence / absence information and the mounted history information and the print medium exists Cassette setting means for setting the cassette as a new paper feed target cassette.

  According to the present invention, according to the design philosophy that the print medium stacked on the oldest loaded cassette is older than the print medium stacked on the other cassette, the oldest loaded cassette is stacked on the oldest loaded cassette. Can be used up from printed media. In addition, when there is no print medium in the paper supply target cassette, a new paper supply target cassette can be automatically set. For example, a large amount of printing exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in one cassette is performed at a time. In this case, it is possible to save the user from having to perform the cassette designation work every time the print medium runs out.

  Note that the function of each means described in the claims is realized by hardware resources whose function is specified by the configuration itself, hardware resources whose function is specified by a program, or a combination thereof. The functions of these means are not limited to those realized by hardware resources that are physically independent of each other. Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a method, a computer program, and a recording medium for the program. Of course, the recording medium for the computer program may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium developed in the future.

1 is a block diagram showing a printer according to a first embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the presence information and mounting history information concerning 1st embodiment. 7 is a flowchart of cassette setting processing for paper feed according to the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the corresponding component in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

1. 1. First embodiment 1-1. Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The printer 1 is a serial ink jet printer that forms an image by fixing ink on a cut sheet as a printing medium. Accordingly, the printer 1 includes an image forming unit 10 that includes a recording head 11 that ejects ink, a transport unit 20 that transports the cut paper P to the image forming unit 10, a stacking unit 30 that stacks the cut paper P, and an image forming unit. The control part 40 which controls the part 10 and the conveyance part 20 is provided.

  The stacking unit 30 includes a first cassette 31, a second cassette 32, a third cassette 33, cassette mounting sensors 37, 38, 39, and paper detection sensors 34, 35, 36. Each of the first cassette 31, the second cassette 32, and the third cassette 33 is configured by a member for holding a plurality of stacked cut sheets P. The first cassette 31, the second cassette 32, and the third cassette 33 can hold at least the same size of cut sheets.

  The cassette mounting sensor 37 is a sensor that detects whether or not a cassette is mounted at the mounting position of the first cassette 31. The cassette mounting sensor 38 is a sensor that detects whether or not a cassette is mounted at the mounting position of the second cassette 32. The cassette mounting sensor 39 is a sensor that detects whether or not a cassette is mounted at the mounting position of the third cassette 33. The cassette mounting sensors 37, 38, and 39 function as cassette mounting detection means. The paper detection sensor 34 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of the cut paper P in the first cassette 31. The paper detection sensor 35 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of the cut paper P in the second cassette 32. The paper detection sensor 36 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of the cut paper P in the third cassette 33. The paper detection sensors 34, 35, and 36 function as print medium detection means. Various known detection methods are adopted as detection methods of the cassette mounting sensors 37, 38, 39 and the paper detection sensors 34, 35, 36.

  The transport unit 20 includes rollers 21a, 21b, 22, 23, electric motors 26, 24, 27, motor drivers 45, 46, 47, a guide 25, and the like. The roller 22 is a roller for taking out the uppermost cut sheet P from the first cassette 31 one by one. The roller 23 is a roller for taking out the uppermost cut sheet P from the second cassette 32 one by one, and the roller 28 is a roller for taking out the uppermost cut sheet P from the third cassette 33. The rollers 21a and 21b are relay rollers that convey the cut paper P taken out from the first cassette 31, the second cassette 32, or the third cassette 33 to a position where the rollers 17c and 17d can hold the paper. The electric motor 26 rotates the rollers 17 b and 17 d of the image forming unit 10 and the rollers 21 a and 22 of the transport unit 20. The motor driver 45 is a circuit that drives the electric motor 26. The electric motor 24 rotates the roller 23. The motor driver 46 is a circuit that drives the electric motor 24. The electric motor 27 rotates the roller 28. The motor driver 47 is a circuit that drives the electric motor 27. The guide 25 is a wall having a form for guiding the cut sheet P conveyed by the rollers 21a, 21b, 22, 23, 28 to a position where the rollers 17c, 17d can be held.

  The image forming unit 10 includes a recording head 11, an ink tank 12, a carriage 13, a guide 14, an endless belt 15, an electric motor 16, a motor driver 48, rollers 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d, an electric motor 26, a platen 19, and the like. . The recording head 11 has a known mechanism such as a piezo method or a thermal method, and discharges ink from a nozzle to fix the cut paper P supplied from the first cassette 31, the second cassette 32, or the third cassette 33. . The ink tank 12 is a container that stores ink supplied to the recording head 11 by color. The carriage 13 is a support member that carries the ink tank 12 and the recording head 11 and reciprocates. The guide 14 is a rod-shaped member that guides the movement of the carriage 13 in the main scanning direction. The endless belt 15 is stretched over a pulley (not shown) and pulls the carriage 13. The electric motor 16 rotates a pulley around which an endless belt 15 is stretched. The motor driver 48 is a circuit that drives the electric motor 16. The rollers 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d convey the cut paper P taken out from the first cassette 31, the second cassette 32, or the third cassette 33 and conveyed by the rollers 21a and 21b in the sub-scanning direction. The platen 19 is a bar-shaped member that positions the cut sheet P with respect to the recording head 11.

  The control unit 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory, a nonvolatile memory, an interface circuit, and the like (not shown). The non-volatile memory stores a control program for controlling the image forming unit 10 and the conveyance unit 20. The CPU is a processor that executes a control program loaded into the main memory. The control program includes a program module group that causes the controller 40 to function as presence / absence information storage means, mounting history information storage means, and cassette setting means.

  When the first cassette 31 is mounted at the first cassette mounting position, the cassette mounting sensor 37 notifies the control unit 40 of a signal indicating that the first cassette 31 has been mounted. Similarly, when the second cassette 32 and the third cassette 33 are mounted, the control unit 40 is notified of signals indicating that the cassettes are mounted from the cassette mounting sensors 38 and 39, respectively. Using these signals, the control unit 40 stores the mounting history information of each cassette in the nonvolatile memory (mounting history information storage means). For example, the control unit 40 stores the cassette mounting date and time for each cassette (see FIG. 2). In this case, the printer 1 includes a time measuring unit that counts the date and time. Note that the control unit 40 may simply store the time-series mounting order. Further, the control unit 40 acquires presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of a cut sheet from the sheet detection sensor corresponding to each cassette, and stores it in the nonvolatile memory (presence / absence information storage unit). The control unit 40 has a function of setting a cassette to be fed as a paper feed target cassette according to conditions described later. The cassette to be fed means a cassette to which a cut sheet is supplied. The control unit 40 takes out the cut sheet P from the cassette set as the sheet supply target cassette at the time of printing and conveys it to the image forming unit 10.

1-2. Paper Feeding Method Next, setting of a paper feed target cassette will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process for setting a cassette to be fed. The control unit 40 executes the process of FIG. 3 for each paper feed, for example, before a paper feed operation during the execution of mass printing. Mass printing means that a large number of sheets exceeding the number of sheets that can be stacked in one cassette are printed in one print job. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 3 may be executed before (or after) executing the one-time paper feeding operation even when mass printing is not being executed.

  In the present embodiment, the paper feed target cassette is not initialized for each print job. The processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed with the cassette set as the paper feed target cassette in the previous print job (printing the last page of the last executed print job) as the paper feed target cassette in the new print job. Is executed. Therefore, information indicating which of the three cassettes to be fed is stored in the memory.

  First, the control unit 40 acquires presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the cut sheet P from each of the sheet detection sensors 34, 35, and 36, and stores it in the nonvolatile memory (S100, see FIG. 2). Subsequently, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the cut sheet P has disappeared from the cassette set as the sheet supply target cassette (S105). When the cut sheet P is out, the control unit 40 sets a cassette to be fed next (S110). Specifically, based on the mounting history information and the presence / absence information, the cassette with the oldest mounting date among the cassettes with the cut sheet P is set as the next sheet to be fed. For example, when FIG. 2 is used as an example, when the cut sheet P runs out in the first cassette 31 (paper feed target cassette) as shown in FIG. Is set as a new cassette to be fed. Then, the control unit 40 rotates the rollers 28 and the rollers 21a and 21b of the third cassette 33 set as the cassette to be fed to convey the cut sheet P of the third cassette 33 to the image forming unit 10, and continues printing. Is executed.

  After that, when the cut sheets P are newly stacked and loaded on the first cassette 31, the cassette loading order is the third cassette 33, the second cassette 32, and the first cassette 31 in the oldest order at that time. Therefore, if there is no other cassette attached / detached and remains in that state, the second cassette 32 is newly set as a cassette to be fed by the control unit 40 when the cut sheet P of the third cassette 33 runs out.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a large amount of printing exceeding the maximum number of stacked sheets of one cassette is executed, it is possible to automatically switch the cassette to be fed without troublesome user. At that time, it is possible to use cut sheets stacked on a cassette having the oldest mounting date and time. For this reason, it is possible to easily use the old cut sheets loaded in the oldest loaded cassette in order without bothering the user.

2. Other Embodiments The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the cassette to be used next is automatically set. The oldest cassette) may be guided on the display or the like, and the setting of the next cassette to be fed may be left to the user.

  Further, for example, the user may be able to select a rule for setting a cassette to be fed next as a cassette to be fed. For example, the oldest cassette described in the first embodiment and the mode in which the cassette on which the print medium exists is set as the next cassette to be fed, and the order always determined (for example, the first cassette, the second cassette, The user may be able to select a mode in which a paper feed target cassette is set in the order of the third cassette (however, a cassette in which a print medium exists is set as a new paper feed target cassette).

  Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a serial type ink jet printer has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a line printer or a page printer using toner as a colorant.

  1: printer, 10: image forming unit, 11: recording head, 12: ink tank, 13: carriage, 14: guide, 15: endless belt, 16: electric motor, 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d: roller, 19: platen , 20: conveying unit, 21a, 21b, 22, 23, 28: roller, 24: electric motor, 25: guide, 26: electric motor, 27: electric motor, 30: loading unit, 31: first cassette, 32: second cassette 33: Third cassette, 34, 35, 36: Paper detection sensor, 37, 38, 39: Cassette mounting sensor, 40: Control unit, 45, 46, 47, 48: Motor driver, P: Cut paper

Claims (2)

A plurality of cassettes for loading print media;
Print medium detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the print medium in the cassette for each cassette;
Cassette loading detection means for detecting loading of the cassette for each of the cassettes;
Presence / absence information storage means for storing presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the print medium for each cassette;
Mounting history information storage means for storing mounting history information indicating mounting history of the plurality of cassettes;
When it is detected that the print medium has run out in the cassette to be fed, the cassette that has been installed the oldest based on the presence / absence information and the installation history information and in which the print medium is present is replaced with a new cassette. Cassette setting means for setting as the cassette to be fed;
Printer with. A print medium detection step of detecting, for each cassette, the presence or absence of the print medium in a plurality of cassettes loaded with the print medium;
A cassette mounting detection step for detecting the mounting of the cassette for each of the cassettes;
Presence / absence information storage step for storing presence / absence information indicating the presence / absence of the print medium for each cassette;
A mounting history information storing step for storing mounting history information indicating mounting history of the plurality of cassettes;
When it is detected that the print medium has run out in the cassette to be fed, the cassette that has been installed the oldest based on the presence / absence information and the installation history information and in which the print medium is present is replaced with a new cassette. A cassette setting step for setting as the cassette to be fed;
Including paper feeding method.

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