Printing control device and printing control method

Abstract

To suppress a defect in printing processing due to replenishment of a recording material.SOLUTION: A printing control device, which controls a printing device which has a recording material container that can be replenished with recording materials, printing means that performs printing using the recording material, a paper supply part on which paper is set, and a mechanism that, when recording materials are replenished into the recording material container, generates mechanical change by which paper is hampered from being conveyed on a paper conveyance path from the paper supply part to the printing means, comprises control means that controls the printing device so that notification of the fact that residual amount of the recording materials have decreased is not made in a case where the residual amounts of the recording materials in the recording material container fall below a first amount during printing by the printing means and notification of the fact that the residual amounts have decreased is made on the basis of the fact that the residual amounts fall below a second amount smaller than the first amount, and so that notification of the fact that the residual amounts have decreased is made on the basis of the fact that the residual amounts fall below the first amount, when the printing means is not performing printing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the control of a printing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, printing devices have been supplied with ink from ink tanks. Patent Document 1 describes a printing device that supplies ink from an ink cartridge to a print head via a buffer tank, and that continues printing using the ink in the buffer tank when the ink cover is open. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-80945 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a printing device configured such that the paper transport path from the paper feed tray to the print head is blocked by the operation of refilling the ink tank with ink, printing cannot be continued if a paper jam occurs.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to prevent problems in printing processes caused by the replenishment of recording material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a print control device that controls a printing device having a recording material container that can be refilled with recording material, a printing means that prints using the recording material, a paper feed unit in which paper is set, and a mechanism that causes a mechanical change that interferes with paper transport along the paper transport path from the paper feed unit to the printing means when the recording material is refilled into the recording material container, and is characterized by having a control means that, while printing is being performed by the printing means, does not issue a notification that the remaining amount of recording material in the recording material container is decreasing when the remaining amount falls below a first amount, but issues a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing when the remaining amount falls below a second amount that is smaller than the first amount, and when printing is not being performed by the printing means, issues a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing when the remaining amount falls below the first amount. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress problems in the printing process caused by the replenishment of recording material. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram illustrating the internal configuration of a printing device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an ink cassette as viewed from the front side of the printing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 illustrates a state in which the ink cassette is pulled out during printing. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an ink refill threshold setting process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a notification control process. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a notification screen. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an ink refill threshold setting process according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall internal configuration of a printing device according to this embodiment, as seen from the side. In the printing device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the left side is the front side and the right side is the rear side. In addition, of the horizontal directions in the printing device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the left side is the forward direction and the right side is the rear direction. The printing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with an inkjet printing unit. Note that the printing method is not limited to inkjet printing, and other printing methods such as electrophotography may be used. In addition to the printing unit, the printing device may also be equipped with other functional units, such as a scanner unit.

[0011] The printing device 1 has a first cassette 112, a second cassette 113, and a third cassette 115 stacked vertically as a paper feed section in which paper to be fed is set. The first cassette 112 is located on the top row. The second cassette 113 is located directly below the first cassette 112. The third cassette 115 is located on the bottom row. Each cassette is stored inside the main body of the printing device 1, and is pulled out forward from the front of the printing device 1 to replenish or replace paper.

[0012] The printing device 1 also has an ink cassette 114 located vertically between the second cassette 113 and the third cassette 115. An ink tank 121 that can be refilled with ink is attached inside the ink cassette 114. The ink cassette 114 is housed inside the main body of the printing device 1, and is refilled with ink by pulling it forward from the front of the printing device 1. In this embodiment, an ink cassette is arranged below two paper feed cassettes, and one paper feed cassette is arranged below the ink cassette, but the number and order of the cassettes arranged are not limited to this configuration.

[0013] The printing device 1 feeds paper from a first cassette 112, a second cassette 113, and a third cassette 115. The fed paper is transported from the paper feed position to the printing position through a paper feed path. At the printing position, the printing device 1 performs a recording operation based on image data using the recording head 111, and prints on the paper. The paper on which the recording operation has been performed at the printing position is transported to the paper discharge outlet 118.

[0014] The printing device 1 has a manual feed tray 119 that holds paper to be fed. The printing device 1 can also feed paper from the manual feed tray 119. Paper fed from the manual feed tray 119 passes through a paper feed path and is transported to the printing position. Paper on which recording has been performed at the printing position is transported to the paper discharge outlet 118.

[0015] The printing device 1 has multiple transport rollers for transporting paper from the paper feed position to the paper discharge port 118. Elements represented by circles in the figure represent the transport rollers. Transport roller 116 is used when pulling out paper loaded in the first cassette 112. Reverse path 117 is used during double-sided printing. The printing device 1 uses the reverse path 117 to reverse the paper and print on both sides of the paper.

[0016] When printing starts with paper loaded in the first cassette 112 and the first cassette 112 is selected as the paper feed unit to be used for paper feeding, the printer 1 uses the transport roller 116 attached to the first cassette 112 to pull out the paper one sheet at a time. The pulled-out paper 1101 is transported to the printing position through the paper feed path. After the recording operation is performed on the paper 1101 at the printing position, the paper 1101 is discharged face down (with the side on which the image is formed facing downwards) to the paper discharge outlet 118.

[0017] The operation panel 404 is a touch panel display or the like, and is provided on the front side of the printing device 1. The operation panel 404 displays a UI screen that accepts input operations from the user and various types of information that are presented to the user.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ink cassette 114 as seen from the front side of the printing device 1. As shown in FIG. Four ink tanks 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d corresponding to four colors of ink are attached inside the ink cassette 114. The ink tanks 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are arranged side by side in the left-right direction when viewed from the front side of the printing device 1. The ink is an example of a recording material. The ink tanks 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are examples of recording material containers. In this embodiment, the ink tank 121 is made up of four ink tanks, but it does not have to be four, and it may be one or more.

[0019] In this embodiment, the printing device 1 refills ink into the ink tank 121 by pulling out the ink cassette 114. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when refilling ink, the ink cassette 114 itself blocks the paper transport path from the paper feed cassette to the printing position. Note that the configuration is not limited to pulling out the ink cassette 114 to refill ink, as long as the mechanism involves a mechanical change that blocks the paper transport path from the paper feed cassette to the printing position when refilling ink. For example, the configuration may be such that the ink tank is removed and refilled with ink. Also, for example, the ink tank may be refilled with ink without removing it. In this embodiment, ink refilling is performed by pouring ink into the ink tank 121. However, this embodiment can also be applied to a case where ink is refilled by replacing the ink tank 121 with a new ink tank.

[0020] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing device 1. The printing device 1 mainly has a print engine unit 200 as a printing section, a scanner unit 300 as a scanner section, and a controller unit 400 that controls the entire printing device 1. The printing device 1 is an example of a print control device.

[0021] First, the controller unit 400 will be described. The controller unit 400 includes a main controller 401, a RAM 406, a ROM 407, an image processing unit 408, and an operation panel 404. The controller unit 400 also includes a host IF 402, a wireless IF 403, and a server IF 410.

[0022] The host IF 402, wireless IF 403, and server IF 410 are interfaces for transmitting and receiving data to and from external devices and server devices that can communicate via wired or wireless communication. The external device is, for example, a PC (personal computer) or smartphone on which a dedicated application for the printing device 1 is installed. By starting the dedicated application, the external device has the function of generating a print job as print data for printing image data on the printing device 1 and transmitting the print job and print instructions to the printing device 1. The external device also has the function of receiving information regarding the status of the printing device 1 from the printing device 1. The main controller 401 receives print jobs and print instructions from the external device and transmits information regarding the status of the printing device 1 to the external device via the host IF 402, etc.

[0023] The print engine IF 405 is an interface that connects to the controller IF 201 of the print engine unit 200 and exchanges data including various commands with the print engine unit 200. The print engine unit 200 controls various mechanisms of the print engine unit 200 according to instructions from the main controller 401.

[0024] The scanner IF 409 is an interface that is connected to the controller IF 301 of the scanner unit 300 and exchanges data with the scanner unit 300. The scanner unit 300 controls various mechanisms of the scanner unit 300 according to instructions from the main controller 401.

[0025] The main controller 401 is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the entire controller unit 400. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 406 temporarily stores various data. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 407 stores various programs and various data including ink refill thresholds for issuing ink refill notifications. The main controller 401 also uses the RAM 406 as a working memory to execute various programs stored in the ROM 407, etc.

[0026] The main controller 401 receives the remaining ink amount from the print engine unit 200 via the print engine IF 405, and controls notifications based on the decrease in the remaining ink amount when it detects that the remaining ink amount has fallen below the ink replenishment threshold.

[0027] The operation panel 404 is a touch panel display or the like, and is capable of displaying characters, figures, indicators, etc. The main controller 401 controls the display contents of the operation panel 404. The operation panel 404 displays a copy screen for issuing instructions for copy operations, a setting screen for making various settings such as the print mode, and a notification screen for notifying the status of the printing device 1. The operation panel 404 may also have switches, hard keys, etc. for the user to perform input operations.

[0028] Image processing unit 408 performs predetermined image processing on image data included in a print job input via host IF 402 or the like, in accordance with instructions from main controller 401. Then, main controller 401 transmits the image data that has undergone image processing to print engine unit 200 via print engine IF 405.

[0029] Next, the print engine unit 200 will be described. Print engine unit 200 has a controller interface (IF) 201, a print engine controller 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, an image processing controller 205, a head interface (IF) 206, a transport control unit 207, and an ink supply control unit 208. Print engine controller 202, which is configured by a CPU, controls various mechanisms provided in print engine unit 200 in accordance with programs and various parameters stored in ROM 203, etc., using RAM 204 as a work area.

[0030] The controller IF 201 is an interface that connects to the print engine IF 405 of the controller unit 400 and exchanges data between the print engine unit 200 and the controller unit 400. When the print engine controller 202 receives various commands and image data from the controller unit 400 via the controller IF 201, it temporarily stores them in the RAM 204.

[0031] The print engine controller 202 controls the image processing controller 205 to generate print data from the image data stored in the RAM 204. When the print data is generated, the print engine controller 202 performs a printing operation based on the print data using the print head 111 via the head I / F 206 under the control of the main controller 401. At this time, the print engine controller 202 drives the conveyance rollers shown in FIG. 1 via the conveyance control unit 207 under the control of the main controller 401 to convey paper. In this way, the print process is performed by performing the printing operation using the print head 111 in conjunction with the paper conveyance.

[0032] The recording head 111 holds, for example, print heads for multiple colors and ejects ink onto paper to form an image on the paper. The recording head 111 is an example of a printing means. Note that in this embodiment, an inkjet printing device using ink as the recording material will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is applicable to printing devices of various printing methods, such as thermal printers (sublimation type, thermal transfer type), dot impact printers, LED printers, laser printers, and other electrophotographic printers.

[0033] The ink supply control unit 208 detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 121 and the remaining amount of ink in an intermediate tank provided in the middle of the ink flow path connecting the ink tank 121 and the print head 111. Then, the ink supply control unit 208 transmits the detected remaining amount of ink to the controller unit 400 via the controller IF 201.

[0034] ROM 203 also stores various parameter setting values ​​such as N-in-1 printing (N is an integer), double-sided printing or single-sided printing, color printing or monochrome printing, photo printing or document printing, etc. When applying parameter settings for each user, main controller 401 can input setting values ​​input from operation panel 404 to print engine unit 200 via print engine IF 405 and reflect them in the print settings.

[0035] Next, the scanner unit 300 will be described. The scanner unit 300 includes a controller IF 301, a scanner controller 302, a RAM 303, a transport control unit 304, and a sensor 305. The controller IF 301 is connected to a scanner IF 409 of the controller unit 400 and is an interface for exchanging data between the scanner unit 300 and the controller unit 400. The scanner controller 302 receives various commands from the controller unit 400 via the controller IF 301. The scanner controller 302 transports a document placed on an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) by a user via the transport control unit 304, reads the document using a sensor 305, and stores the read image data in RAM 303. The print engine controller 202 can also perform a printing operation based on the image data read using the print head 111 by converting the read image data into print data under the control of the main controller 401.

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a state in which the ink cassette 114 is pulled out forward when paper is being fed using a paper feed cassette below the ink cassette 114. FIG. 4 also shows a state in which the ink cassette 114 directly above the third cassette 115 is pulled out when paper is being fed using the third cassette 115. As shown in FIG. 4, the transport path for paper 1101 fed from the third cassette 115 passes in front of the ink cassette 114. Therefore, when the ink cassette 114 is pulled out forward, the transport path is blocked by the ink cassette 114, causing a paper jam. In other words, when ink is refilled, paper transport from cassettes below the ink cassette 114 is blocked. On the other hand, when ink is refilled, paper transport from cassettes above the ink cassette 114 and the manual feed tray 119 is not blocked.

[0037] <Ink refill threshold setting process> Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the ink refill threshold setting process according to this embodiment. The process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 5 is realized by the main controller 401 loading a program stored in the ROM 407 or the like into the RAM 406 and executing it. In the following explanation, each process (step) is represented by adding an S to the beginning, and the process (step) is notated. The flowchart shown in Fig. 5 starts at a predetermined timing, such as when the printing process starts, when the printing process stops, or when the printing process ends.

[0038] The ink refill threshold is a threshold used to determine whether the remaining ink level has become low enough to prompt the user to refill ink. The ink refill threshold setting process sets the ink refill threshold used for the above determination depending on the state of the printing device 1. The ROM 407 pre-stores a first volume, a second volume, and a normal volume as ink refill thresholds. The ink refill thresholds are arranged in descending order of ink volume: first volume, normal volume, and second volume. The normal volume refers to the default ink volume at which it is determined that ink refilling is necessary. The ink refill threshold may be set for the remaining ink levels in both the ink tank 121 and the intermediate tank, or for either one of them.

[0039] In S501, the main controller 401 determines whether or not printing processing has started. If printing processing has started, the process proceeds to S503, and if not, the process proceeds to S502. In S502, the main controller 401 sets the ink refill threshold to the normal capacity, and ends this flowchart. In S503, the main controller 401 determines whether printing is stopped. If printing is stopped, the process proceeds to S504, and if printing is in progress, the process proceeds to S505.

[0040] In S504, the main controller 401 sets the ink refill threshold to a first volume, which is greater than the normal volume, and then ends this flowchart. If ink could be refilled while printing was stopped, ink refilling during printing could be avoided and paper jams could be reduced. Therefore, the ink refill threshold is set higher than normal to make it easier to refill ink while printing was stopped. In this embodiment, ink is replenished by adding ink to the ink tank 121. Therefore, even if ink is replenished when there is ink remaining in the ink tank 121, the ink remaining in the ink tank 121 is not wasted. Therefore, by setting the ink replenishment threshold higher while printing is stopped, ink replenishment is encouraged earlier, the ink remaining in the ink tank 121 is not wasted, and the possibility of running out of ink after printing begins can be reduced. On the other hand, if ink is replenished by replacing the ink tank 121 with a new ink tank, if ink is replenished earlier, the ink remaining in the previous ink tank will be wasted. Therefore, if ink is replenished by replacing the ink tank with a new one, the ink replenishment threshold may be set to normal rather than set higher in S504 to prevent ink from being wasted due to early ink tank replacement. Note that even when ink is replenished by replacing the ink tank with a new one, the ink replenishment threshold may be set higher in S504, just as in the case of a method in which ink can be replenished by adding ink. In S505, the main controller 401 sets the ink refill threshold to a second capacity, which is less than the normal capacity, and then ends this flowchart. If ink is refilled during printing, there is a high possibility that a paper jam will occur. Therefore, the ink refill threshold is set lower than normal to make it less likely that ink will be refilled during printing.

[0041] According to the ink refill threshold setting process of this embodiment as described above, the ink refill threshold can be appropriately set depending on whether the printing device 1 is not printing, printing, or printing has been stopped, thereby reducing the possibility of a printing error (jam) occurring due to the ink refill operation during printing.

[0042] <Notification control process> Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of notification control processing that controls notifications based on low ink levels. The processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 is realized by main controller 401 loading a program stored in ROM 407 or the like into RAM 406 and executing it. The flowchart shown in Fig. 6 starts at a predetermined timing, such as when printing processing starts, when printing processing stops, or when printing processing ends.

[0043] In S601, the main controller 401 receives the remaining ink amount from the print engine unit 200 via the print engine IF 405 and detects whether the remaining ink amount is equal to or less than the ink refill threshold. If it detects that the remaining ink amount is equal to or less than the ink refill threshold, the process proceeds to S602. In S602, the main controller 401 determines whether or not the execution of a print job has started. If the execution of a print job has started, the process proceeds to S604, and if the print job is not being executed, the process proceeds to S603.

[0044] In S603, the main controller 401 issues a notification regarding the low ink level. In this embodiment, a first notification screen including a message prompting ink replenishment is displayed on the operation panel 404. The main controller 401 may also issue the notification by voice using a speaker (not shown) or the like.

[0045] 7(a) shows an example of a first notification screen displayed on the operation panel 404. The first notification screen displays a message informing the user that the remaining ink level of a specific color is low and that the ink needs to be replenished.

[0046] In S604, the main controller 401 determines whether the cassette from which paper is fed is above the ink cassette 114. If it is above the ink cassette 114, the process proceeds to S603; if it is below the ink cassette 114, the process proceeds to S605. The process also proceeds to S603 if paper is being fed from the manual feed tray 119. If paper is being fed from a cassette above the ink cassette 114 or the manual feed tray 119, the paper transport path is not obstructed when ink is replenished, so a paper jam does not occur. Therefore, the main controller 401 issues a notification that the remaining ink level is low without performing subsequent processing.

[0047] In S605, the main controller 401 determines whether printing is stopped. If printing is stopped, the process proceeds to S606, and if printing is in progress, the process proceeds to S607. In S606, the main controller 401 issues a notification that the remaining amount of ink is low. In this embodiment, a second notification screen including a message urging the user to refill ink is displayed on the operation panel 404. The main controller 401 may issue the notification by voice using a speaker (not shown) or the like. The main controller 401 may also control the display of the second notification screen on the display unit of an external device, such as a smartphone, that sent the print job to the printing device 1 via the wireless IF 403 or the like.

[0048] 7(b) shows an example of a second notification screen displayed on the operation panel 404. The second notification screen displays a message informing the user that the ink level of a specific color is low and that the ink may run out if printing continues.

[0049] In S607, the main controller 401 predicts the amount of ink to be consumed for the print job currently being executed. In S608, the main controller 401 determines whether the remaining ink amount is below the amount of ink to be consumed predicted in S607. If it is determined that the remaining ink amount is not below the amount of ink to be consumed, that is, that printing is possible with the remaining ink amount, the flow chart ends without notifying the user that the ink level is low. On the other hand, if it is determined that the remaining ink amount is below the amount of ink to be consumed, that is, that printing is not possible with the remaining ink amount, the flow proceeds to S609.

[0050] In S609, the main controller 401 issues a notification that the remaining amount of ink is low. In this embodiment, a third notification screen including a message urging the user to refill ink is displayed on the operation panel 404. The main controller 401 may issue the notification by voice using a speaker (not shown) or the like. The main controller 401 may also control the display of the third notification screen on the display unit of an external device, such as a smartphone, that sent the print job to the printing device 1 via the wireless IF 403 or the like.

[0051] 7(c) shows an example of a third notification screen displayed on the operation panel 404. The third notification screen displays a message informing the user that the remaining ink level of a specific color is low and that refilling the ink during printing may cause a paper jam.

[0052] According to this embodiment, the ink refill threshold can be set low during printing to make it less likely that notifications about low ink will be issued, and the ink refill threshold can be set high during printing pauses to make it more likely that notifications about low ink will be issued. By making ink refilling more likely during printing pauses and less likely during printing, the occurrence of paper jams can be avoided. In other words, printing interruptions can be suppressed.

[0053] [Embodiment 2] In this embodiment, we will explain the ink refill threshold setting process when paper is fed from a cassette that does not obstruct the paper transport path during ink refill. For example, because the first cassette 112 and the second cassette 113 are located above the ink cassette 114, the paper transport path will not be obstructed even if the ink cassette 114 is pulled out during printing. Below, the same components as in embodiment 1 are assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0054] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the ink refill threshold setting process according to this embodiment. The process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 8 is realized by the main controller 401 loading a program stored in the ROM 407 or the like into the RAM 406 and executing it. Note that the ink refill threshold setting process shown in Fig. 8 is a process that is executed during printing in parallel with the ink refill threshold setting process shown in Fig. 5.

[0055] In S801, the main controller 401 determines whether printing processing has started. If printing processing has started, the process proceeds to S802. If not, the process ends this flowchart without changing the ink refill threshold value set to the normal capacity in the setting processing shown in FIG. In S802, the main controller 401 determines whether the cassette from which paper is fed is above the ink cassette 114. If it is above the ink cassette 114, the process proceeds to S803, and if it is below the ink cassette 114, the process ends this flowchart without changing the ink refill threshold value to the second capacity already set in the setting process shown in Fig. 5. Also, if paper is being fed from the manual feed tray 119, the process proceeds to S803.

[0056] In S803, the main controller 401 predicts the amount of ink to be consumed for the print job currently being executed. In S804, the main controller 401 determines whether the remaining ink amount is less than the amount of ink to be consumed predicted in S803. If it is determined that the remaining ink amount is less than the amount of ink to be consumed, that is, that the remaining ink amount is not enough to print, the process proceeds to S805. On the other hand, if it is determined that the remaining ink amount is not less than the amount of ink to be consumed, that is, that the remaining ink amount is enough to print, the process proceeds to S806.

[0057] In S805, the main controller 401 sets the ink refill threshold to a first capacity, which is greater than the normal capacity, and then ends this flowchart. If ink could be refilled from a cassette above the ink cassette 114 while paper is being fed, paper jams could be avoided. Therefore, the ink refill threshold is set higher than normal to notify the user early that the ink level is low, making it easier to refill ink. In S806, the main controller 401 sets the ink refill threshold to the normal capacity, and ends this flowchart.

[0058] According to the ink refill threshold setting process of this embodiment, if printing is in progress but ink refilling will not obstruct the paper transport path, the ink refill threshold is set high to prompt ink refilling early, which means that problems such as paper jams can be prevented from occurring during the printing process.

[0059] The various controls described above as being performed by the main controller 401 may be performed by a single piece of hardware, or the entire device may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware (e.g., a plurality of processors or circuits) sharing the processing. Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, each of the above-described embodiments merely represents one embodiment of the present invention, and each embodiment can be combined as appropriate.

[0060] In the above-described embodiment, various notifications are controlled by the main controller 401 of the printing device 1. However, notifications based on low ink levels may also be controlled by a CPU in an external device (such as a PC or smartphone). In this case, the printing device 1 may transmit the ink level status and the status of the printing device 1 (for example, a status where printing is not occurring, a status where printing is occurring, or a status where printing has been stopped) to the external device. For example, based on the information received from the printing device 1, the external device may control the printer 1 to issue a notification when the ink level falls below the normal level if the printing device 1 is not occurring, or to issue a notification when the ink level falls below a second level that is lower than the normal level if the printing device 1 is occurring.

[0061] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0062] The disclosure of the above-described embodiments includes the following configurations, methods, programs, and storage media. (Configuration 1) a recording material container that can be replenished with recording material; a printing means for performing printing using the recording material; a paper feed section in which paper is set; a mechanism for generating a mechanical change that hinders paper transport along a paper transport path from the paper feed unit to the printing means when the recording material is replenished in the recording material container; A print control device that controls a printing device having during printing by the printing means, when the remaining amount of recording material in the recording material container becomes equal to or less than a first amount, no notification is given that the remaining amount is low, and when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a second amount that is less than the first amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low; When the printing means is not printing, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the first amount. Control means for controlling A print control device comprising: (Configuration 2) The control means When the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means, the amount of recording material to be consumed in the print job being executed is predicted; If the remaining amount is lower than the predicted consumption amount, a notification is given regarding the decrease in the remaining amount. If the remaining amount does not fall below the predicted consumption amount, control is performed so that the notification is not made. 2. The print control device according to configuration 1, (Configuration 3) the notification based on the fact that the remaining amount has become equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means includes content relating to the occurrence of a paper jam; The notification based on the fact that the remaining amount has fallen to the first amount or less when the printing unit is not printing includes a message urging the user to replenish the recording material. 3. The print control device according to configuration 1 or 2. (Configuration 4) the printing device has the first paper feed unit and the second paper feed unit, The paper transport path from the first paper feed unit to the printing means is not interrupted when the recording material is replenished, a paper transport path from the second paper feed unit to the printing means is blocked when the recording material is replenished; The control means during printing by the printing means using the first paper feed unit, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a third amount that is greater than the first amount; During printing by the printing means using the second paper feed unit, when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing. 4. The print control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 3. (Configuration 5) The control means predicting the amount of recording material consumed by the print job being executed while the printing unit is printing using the first paper feed unit; If the remaining amount is less than the predicted consumption amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the third amount; If the remaining amount is not less than the predicted consumption amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the first amount. 5. The print control device according to configuration 4. (Configuration 6) the printing device has the first paper feed unit and the second paper feed unit, The paper transport path from the first paper feed unit to the printing means is not interrupted when the recording material is replenished, a paper transport path from the second paper feed unit to the printing means is blocked when the recording material is replenished; The control means When the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means, When the first paper feed unit is being used, the consumption amount is not predicted, When the second paper feed unit is in use, the consumption amount is predicted. 3. The print control device according to configuration 2. (Configuration 7) The control means during execution of a print job and printing by the printing means, a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing is not given in response to the remaining amount becoming equal to or less than the first amount, and a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing is given in response to the remaining amount becoming equal to or less than the second amount; During the execution of the print job and while printing by the printing means is stopped, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing based on the fact that the remaining amount has reached a third amount that is greater than the first amount. 7. The print control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6. (Configuration 8) 8. The print control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 7, wherein the recording material is ink, and the printing means is an inkjet system. (Configuration 9) 9. The print control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 8, wherein the print control device is a main body of the printing device. (Configuration 10) 10. The print control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 9, wherein the print control device is an external device that can communicate with the print device and transmits print instructions and print data to the print device. (Configuration 11) The printing control device described in any one of configurations 1 to 10, characterized in that the recording material container is attached to an ink cassette stored inside the main body of the printing device, and when the recording material container is replenished with recording material, the ink cassette is pulled out from the main body of the printing device, thereby preventing paper transport from the paper supply unit. (method) a recording material container that can be replenished with recording material; a printing means for performing printing using the recording material; a paper feed section in which paper is set; a mechanism for generating a mechanical change that hinders paper transport along a paper transport path from the paper feed unit to the printing means when the recording material is replenished in the recording material container; A printing control method for controlling a printing device having during printing by the printing means, when the remaining amount of recording material in the recording material container becomes equal to or less than a first amount, no notification is given that the remaining amount is low, and when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a second amount that is less than the first amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low; When the printing means is not printing, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the first amount. Control step to control A printing control method comprising: (program) A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the print control device described in any one of configurations 1 to 11. (storage medium) A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each means of the print control device described in any one of configurations 1 to 11. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1: printing device, 112: first cassette, 113: second cassette, 114: ink cassette, 115: third cassette, 121: ink tank, 404: operation panel

Claims

1. a recording material container that can be replenished with recording material; a printing means for performing printing using the recording material; a paper feed section in which paper is set; a mechanism for generating a mechanical change that hinders paper transport along a paper transport path from the paper feed unit to the printing means when the recording material is replenished in the recording material container; A print control device that controls a printing device having during printing by the printing means, when the remaining amount of recording material in the recording material container becomes equal to or less than a first amount, no notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing, and when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a second amount that is smaller than the first amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing; When the printing means is not printing, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the first amount. Control means for controlling A print control device comprising:

2. The control means When the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means, the amount of recording material to be consumed in the print job being executed is predicted; If the remaining amount is lower than the predicted consumption amount, a notification is given regarding the decrease in the remaining amount. If the remaining amount does not fall below the predicted consumption amount, control is performed so that the notification is not made.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

3. the notification based on the fact that the remaining amount has become equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means includes content relating to the occurrence of a paper jam; The notification based on the fact that the remaining amount has fallen to the first amount or less when the printing unit is not printing includes a message urging the user to replenish the recording material.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

4. the printing device has the first paper feed unit and a second paper feed unit, The paper transport path from the first paper feed unit to the printing means is not interrupted when the recording material is replenished, a paper transport path from the second paper feed unit to the printing means is blocked when the recording material is replenished; The control means during printing by the printing means using the first paper feed unit, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a third amount that is greater than the first amount; During printing by the printing means using the second paper feed unit, when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

5. The control means predicting the amount of recording material consumed by a print job being executed while printing is being performed by the printing means using the first paper feed unit; If the remaining amount is less than the predicted consumption amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the third amount; If the remaining amount is not less than the predicted consumption amount, no notification is made in response to the remaining amount becoming equal to or less than the third amount, and a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing is made in response to the remaining amount becoming equal to or less than the first amount.

5. The print control device according to claim 4.

6. the printing device has the first paper feed unit and a second paper feed unit, The paper transport path from the first paper feed unit to the printing means is not interrupted when the recording material is replenished, a paper transport path from the second paper feed unit to the printing means is blocked when the recording material is replenished; The control means When the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount during printing by the printing means, When the first paper feed unit is being used, the consumption amount is not predicted, When the second paper feed unit is in use, the consumption amount is predicted.

3. The print control device according to claim 2.

7. The control means during execution of a print job and printing by the printing means, a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing is not given in response to the remaining amount becoming equal to or less than the first amount, and a notification that the remaining amount is decreasing is given only when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the second amount; During the execution of the print job and while printing by the printing means is stopped, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing based on the fact that the remaining amount has reached a third amount that is greater than the first amount.

2. The print control device according to claim 1.

8. 2. A print control device according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is ink, and the printing means is an inkjet type.

9. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the print control device is a main body of the printing device.

10. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the print control device is an external device that can communicate with the printing device and transmits print instructions and print data to the printing device.

11. The printing control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the recording material container is attached to an ink cassette stored inside the main body of the printing device, and when the ink cassette is pulled out from the main body of the printing device when refilling the recording material container with recording material, paper transport from the paper feed unit is prevented.

12. a recording material container that can be replenished with recording material; a printing means for performing printing using the recording material; a paper feed section in which paper is set; a mechanism for generating a mechanical change that hinders paper transport along a paper transport path from the paper feed unit to the printing means when the recording material is replenished in the recording material container; A printing control method for controlling a printing device having during printing by the printing means, when the remaining amount of recording material in the recording material container becomes equal to or less than a first amount, no notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing, and when the remaining amount becomes equal to or less than a second amount that is smaller than the first amount, a notification is given that the remaining amount is decreasing; When the printing means is not printing, a notification is given that the remaining amount is low in response to the remaining amount being equal to or less than the first amount. Control step to control A printing control method comprising:

13. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the print control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the print control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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