Program and liquid dispensing device

Abstract

To reduce a time required for communication between a liquid discharge apparatus and an external apparatus as much as possible.SOLUTION: A printer stores nozzle information including first information and second information whose data amount is larger than that of the first information. A control unit of an external apparatus transmits a first information request signal to the printer (S202). A control unit of the printer transmits, when receiving the first information request signal (S301: YES), the first information to the external apparatus (S302). The control unit of the external apparatus determines whether or not the second information is to be acquired based on the first information (S205), and when determining that the second information is to be acquired (S205: YES), transmits a second information request signal to the printer (S206). The control unit of the printer transmits, when receiving the second information request signal (S304: YES), the second information to the external apparatus (S305).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a program for controlling an external device communicable with a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid from a nozzle, and a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid from a nozzle.

Background Art

[0002] As an example of a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid from a nozzle, Patent Document 1 describes a printer that ejects ink from a nozzle to perform recording. In Patent Document 1, a recording system is formed by communicably connecting a printer and a host computer. The printer of Patent Document 1 is configured to be able to perform nozzle check and cleaning. In the recording system of Patent Document 1, when an application execution unit requests information regarding the state of the nozzles of the printer, a printer driver execution unit generates a status request command and transmits it to the printer. The printer that has received this status request command transmits status information including the result of the nozzle check after cleaning executed immediately before to the host computer. The printer driver execution unit receives the status information transmitted from the printer, acquires the information regarding the nozzle state included in the status information, and outputs the information to the application execution unit. Here, the status information is information indicating whether or not there is ejection failure for each of a plurality of nozzles of the print head.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In this case, the print head of the printer described in Patent Document 1 has a large number of nozzles. Therefore, the status information in Patent Document 1, which indicates whether or not there is a ejection defect for each of the multiple nozzles, is a relatively large amount of data. Consequently, in Patent Document 1, it takes time to transmit the status information from the printer to the host computer.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a program for controlling an external device that can communicate with a liquid dispensing device, and a liquid dispensing device, which can minimize the time required for communication between the liquid dispensing device and the external device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a program for controlling an external device that can communicate with a liquid dispensing device comprising a head having a plurality of nozzles and a storage unit that stores nozzle information indicating the state of the plurality of nozzles, wherein the program causes a computer to perform a first acquisition process to acquire first information corresponding to the nozzle information from the liquid dispensing device, and a determination process to determine whether or not to acquire second information corresponding to the nozzle information and having a larger data volume than the first information from the liquid dispensing device based on the first information, and if the determination process determines that the second information should be acquired from the liquid dispensing device, the program causes the computer to perform a second acquisition process to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

[0007] The liquid dispensing device of the present invention is a liquid dispensing device that can communicate with an external device, and comprises a head having a plurality of nozzles, a storage unit that stores nozzle information indicating the plurality of states, and a control unit, wherein when the control unit receives a first signal from the external device instructing the transmission of first information corresponding to the nozzle information, it transmits the first information to the external device, and thereafter, when the control unit receives a second signal from the external device instructing the transmission of second information corresponding to the nozzle information and having a larger data volume than the first information, it transmits the second information to the external device, and when it does not receive a second signal, it does not transmit the second information to the external device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In this invention, the external device acquires first information, which has a smaller data volume than second information, and determines whether or not to acquire second information based on the first information. If it decides to acquire second information, it does so. This makes it possible to acquire the second information, which has a larger data volume, only when necessary, and minimizes the time required for communication between the liquid dispensing device and the external device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the printer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the electrodes placed inside the cap, and the connection relationships between the electrodes and the high-voltage power supply circuit and signal processing circuit. [Figure 3] (a) is a diagram showing the signal output from the signal processing circuit when ink is ejected from the nozzle during the test drive, and (b) is a diagram showing the signal output from the signal processing circuit when ink is not ejected from the nozzle during the test drive. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a printer. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows the process flow for inspecting whether or not a nozzle is defective. [Figure 6] (a) is a flowchart showing the process flow for acquiring the first and second information from the printer in an external device, and (b) is a flowchart showing the process flow for sending the first and second information from the printer to the external device. [Figure 7] Figure 6(a) is a flowchart showing the flow of the decision-making process. [Figure 8] (a) is a flowchart showing the decision-making process in the second embodiment, and (b) is a diagram illustrating the threshold in the second embodiment. [Figure 9](a) is a flowchart showing the decision-making process flow of the third embodiment, and (b) is a flowchart showing the decision-making process flow of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 10] (a) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the external device during recording in the fifth embodiment, and (b) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the printer during recording in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 11] (a) is a diagram illustrating the generation of recorded data when there is no abnormal nozzle, (b) is a diagram illustrating the generation of recorded data in the same way as when there is no abnormal nozzle, and (c) is a diagram illustrating the generation of recorded data when there is an abnormal nozzle. [Figure 12] (a) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the external device during recording in the sixth embodiment, and (b) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the printer during recording in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 13] (a) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the external device during recording in the seventh embodiment, and (b) is a flowchart showing the processing flow at the printer during recording in the seventh embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] [First Embodiment] A preferred first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0011] <Overall printer configuration> As shown in Figure 1, the printer 1 according to the first embodiment (the "liquid ejection device" of the present invention) includes a carriage 2, a sub-tank 3, an inkjet head 4 (the "head" of the present invention), a platen 5, transport rollers 6 and 7, a maintenance unit 8 (the "recovery means" of the present invention), and the like.

[0012] The carriage 2 is supported by two guide rails 11 and 12 extending in the scanning direction. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the right side and the left side in the scanning direction will be defined for the description. The carriage 2 is connected to a carriage motor 86 (see FIG. 4) via a belt or the like not shown. When the carriage motor 86 is driven, the carriage 2 moves in the scanning direction along the guide rails 11 and 12.

[0013] The sub-tank 3 is mounted on the carriage 2. Here, the printer 1 includes a cartridge holder 13. Four ink cartridges 14 are removably mounted on the cartridge holder 13. The four ink cartridges 14 mounted on the cartridge holder 13 are arranged in the scanning direction, and store black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks (the "liquid" of the present invention) in order from the one located on the right side in the scanning direction.

[0014] The inkjet head 4 is mounted on the carriage 2 and connected to the lower end of the sub-tank 3. The four-color inks are supplied from the sub-tank 3 to the inkjet head 4. Further, the inkjet head 4 ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles 10 formed on the nozzle surface 4a which is the lower surface thereof. More specifically, the plurality of nozzles 10 are arranged in the conveyance direction orthogonal to the scanning direction to form a nozzle row 9, and four rows of nozzle rows 9 are arranged in the scanning direction on the nozzle surface 4a. From the plurality of nozzles 10, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks are ejected in order from the one constituting the nozzle row 9 on the right side in the scanning direction. Thus, in the first embodiment, the types of ink ejected from the nozzles 10 are different among the four nozzle rows 9. Among the four nozzle rows 9, the plurality of nozzles 10 forming one nozzle row 9 correspond to the "first nozzle" of the present invention, and the plurality of nozzles 10 forming another nozzle row 9 correspond to the "second nozzle" of the present invention.

[0015] The platen 5 is disposed below the inkjet head 4 and faces a plurality of nozzles 10. The platen 5 extends over the entire length of the recording paper P in the scanning direction and supports the recording paper P from below. The conveyance roller 6 is disposed upstream of the inkjet head 4 and the platen 5 in the conveyance direction. The conveyance roller 7 is disposed downstream of the inkjet head 4 and the platen 5 in the conveyance direction. The conveyance rollers 6 and 7 are connected to a conveyance motor 87 (see FIG. 4) via gears or the like not shown. When the conveyance motor 87 is driven, the conveyance rollers 6 and 7 rotate, and the recording paper P is conveyed in the conveyance direction.

[0016] The maintenance unit 8 includes a cap 71, a suction pump 72, and a waste liquid tank 73. The cap 71 is disposed on the right side of the platen 5 in the scanning direction. When the carriage 2 is positioned at the maintenance position on the right side of the platen 5 in the scanning direction, the plurality of nozzles 10 face the cap 71.

[0017] Further, the cap 71 is connected to a cap elevating mechanism 88 (see FIG. 4). When the cap elevating mechanism 88 is driven, the cap 71 moves up and down. When the cap 71 is lifted by the cap elevating mechanism 88 in a state where the plurality of nozzles 10 and the cap 71 are opposed to each other by positioning the carriage 2 at the maintenance position, the upper end portion of the cap 71 adheres to the nozzle surface 4a. As a result, the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4 are in a cap state covered by the cap 71. In a state where the cap 71 is lowered, the plurality of nozzles 10 are not covered by the cap 71. Note that the cap 71 is not necessarily limited to covering the plurality of nozzles 10 by adhering to the nozzle surface 4a. The cap 71 may cover the plurality of nozzles 10 by adhering to a frame or the like not shown disposed around the nozzle surface 4a of the inkjet head 4, for example.

[0018] The suction pump 72 is a tube pump or the like and is connected to the cap 71 and the waste liquid tank 73. When the maintenance unit 8 is capped and the suction pump 72 is driven, a suction purge (the "recovery operation" of the present invention) can be performed to discharge ink from the inkjet head 4 through multiple nozzles 10. The ink discharged by the suction purge is stored in the waste liquid tank 73.

[0019] For convenience, the explanation here assumes that the cap 71 covers all nozzles 10 together, and that during suction purging, ink is discharged from all nozzles 10 within the inkjet head 4. However, this is not the only possible configuration. For example, the cap 71 may have separate parts: one covering multiple nozzles 10 that make up the rightmost nozzle row 9 that ejects black ink, and another covering multiple nozzles 10 that make up the leftmost three rows of nozzles 9 that eject color ink. This allows for selective discharge of either black ink or color ink within the inkjet head 4 during suction purging. Alternatively, for example, the cap 71 may be provided individually for each nozzle row 9, allowing for individual discharge of ink from each nozzle 10 during suction purging.

[0020] As shown in Figure 3, an electrode 76 having a rectangular planar shape is arranged inside the cap 71. The electrode 76 is connected to a high-voltage power supply circuit 77 via a resistor 79. The high-voltage power supply circuit 77 applies a predetermined voltage (for example, about 600V) to the electrode 76 when performing the test drive described later. Meanwhile, the inkjet head 4 is held at ground potential. This creates a predetermined potential difference between the inkjet head 4 and the electrode 76. A signal processing circuit 78 is connected to the electrode 76. The signal processing circuit 78 includes a differentiating circuit and outputs a signal corresponding to the voltage of the electrode 76. However, the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 may be a current signal. In the first embodiment, the combination of the electrode 76, the high-voltage power supply circuit 77, the signal processing circuit 78, and the resistor 79 corresponds to the "signal output unit" of the present invention.

[0021] With the capped state described above, and with a voltage applied to the electrode 76 by the high-voltage power supply circuit 77, and without performing the test drive described later, the voltage of the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 will be the voltage V0 shown in Figures 3(a) and (b).

[0022] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, with the cap in place, a voltage can be applied to the electrode 76 by the high-voltage power supply circuit 77, causing the inkjet head 4 to perform a test drive to eject ink from the nozzle 10 toward the electrode 76.

[0023] When ink is ejected from nozzle 10 by the test drive, the ejected ink is charged. As a result, the charged ink approaches electrode 76, and the potential of electrode 76 changes until the ink lands on electrode 76. After the charged ink lands on electrode 76, the potential of electrode 76 decays and returns to the potential it was at before the ink was ejected.

[0024] At this time, as shown in Figure 3(a), the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 rises from voltage V0 to voltage V1, which is higher than voltage V0, then falls to voltage V2, which is lower than voltage V0, and then returns to voltage V0 while repeatedly rising and falling with attenuation. As a result, the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 has a maximum value of voltage V1 and a minimum value of voltage V2.

[0025] On the other hand, if ink is not ejected from the nozzle 10 due to the test drive, the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 hardly changes from the voltage V0, as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0026] Thus, in the first embodiment, the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 differs depending on whether or not ink was ejected from the nozzle 10 by the test drive. In the first embodiment, this is used to determine whether or not ink was ejected normally from the nozzle 10, as will be described later.

[0027] In the first embodiment, a predetermined voltage is applied to the electrode 76, the inkjet head 4 is held at ground potential, and the signal processing circuit 78 is configured to output a signal corresponding to the voltage of the electrode 76. However, the invention is not limited to this configuration. Alternatively, the electrode 76 may be held at ground potential, and a predetermined voltage may be applied to the inkjet head 4 to create a potential difference between the electrode 76 and the inkjet head 4. The signal processing circuit 78 may then be connected to the inkjet head 4 and output a signal corresponding to the voltage of the inkjet head 4.

[0028] <Electrical configuration of the printer> Next, the electrical configuration of printer 1 will be described. As shown in Figure 4, printer 1 is equipped with a control unit 80. The control unit 80 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 81, ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, RAM (Random Access Memory) 83, flash memory 84 (the "storage unit" of the present invention), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 85, etc. The control unit 80 controls the operation of the carriage motor 86, inkjet head 4, transport motor 87, cap lifting mechanism 88, suction pump 72, high-voltage power supply circuit 77, etc. The control unit 80 also receives signals from the signal processing circuit 78, etc.

[0029] In addition to the configuration described above, the printer 1 also includes a display unit 69, an operation unit 68, and a communication unit 67. The display unit 69 is, for example, a liquid crystal display provided on the housing of the printer 1. The control unit 80 controls the display unit 69 to display information necessary for the operation of the printer 1. The operation unit 68 is, for example, buttons provided on the housing of the printer 1 or a touch panel provided on the display unit 69. The operation unit 68 receives signals based on user operations and transmits the received signals to the control unit 80.

[0030] The communication unit 67 is connected to the external device 100 in a way that allows it to communicate with the external device 100. The external device 100 is, for example, a PC or a smartphone. The external device 100 comprises a control unit 101 and a storage unit 102. The control unit 101 consists of a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The storage unit 102 is flash memory, etc. Furthermore, the communication unit 67 may be able to communicate with the external device 100 by being connected to it via a wired connection, or it may be able to communicate with the external device 100 by being connected to it wirelessly.

[0031] Furthermore, the control unit 80 may be configured such that only the CPU 81 performs the various processing, or only the ASIC 85 performs the various processing, or the CPU 81 and ASIC 85 perform the various processing in cooperation. Also, the control unit 80 may be configured such that one CPU 81 performs the processing alone, or multiple CPUs 81 share the processing. Furthermore, the control unit 80 may be configured such that one ASIC 85 performs the processing alone, or multiple ASICs 85 share the processing.

[0032] <Processing for nozzle inspection> Next, the process flow for checking whether any of the nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4 are abnormal nozzles will be described in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, while power is supplied to the printer 1, such as when the printer 1's outlet is connected to commercial power, the control unit 80 performs the process according to the flow shown in Figure 5.

[0033] To explain the flow in Figure 5 in detail, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the inspection start conditions are met (S101). The inspection start conditions include, for example, the condition that a predetermined time has arrived, the condition that the number of recording sheets P on which records have been made since the previous inspection process has reached a predetermined number, and the condition that an error has occurred, such as a jam in the recording sheets P. In S101, it is determined that the inspection start conditions are met if at least one of these conditions is met.

[0034] The control unit 80 then waits while the inspection start conditions are not met (S101: NO), and when the inspection start conditions are met (S101: YES), it executes the inspection process (S102). During the inspection process, the control unit 80 sets the nozzle to the capped state and causes the high-voltage power supply circuit 77 to apply voltage to the electrode 76, and causes the inkjet head 4 to perform inspection drives for each of the multiple nozzles 10. When an inspection drive is performed for each nozzle 10, the control unit 80 acquires nozzle information, which is information on whether or not the nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle, based on the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78, and stores it in the flash memory 84 (the "storage unit" of the present invention).

[0035] <Processing of sending and receiving abnormal nozzle information> Furthermore, in the first embodiment, while power is supplied to the printer 1 and the printer 1 and the external device 100 are able to communicate, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 6(a), and the control unit 80 of the printer 1 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 6(b), thereby transmitting and receiving the first information and the second information, which will be described later, between the printer 1 and the external device 100. In the following description, the program that causes the control unit 101 of the external device 100 to process according to the flow shown in Figure 6(b) corresponds to the "program" of the present invention.

[0036] To explain in more detail, as shown in Figure 6(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines whether the elapsed time T is equal to or greater than a predetermined time T1 (S201). Here, the elapsed time T is the time elapsed since the execution of the processes S202 to S208 described later, and is reset to 0 in S208 described later when power is supplied to the printer 1 for the first time.

[0037] As shown in Figure 6(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 waits while the elapsed time T is less than a predetermined time T1 (S201: NO), and when the elapsed time T becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined time T1 (S201: YES), it sends a first information request signal to the printer 1 requesting first information (S202). In the first embodiment, the first information is information indicating whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle among the plurality of nozzles 10 that form the nozzle row 9 for each nozzle row 9.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6(b), the control unit 80 of printer 1 waits until it receives a first information request signal transmitted from the external device 100 (S301: NO), and when it receives the first information request signal (S301: YES), it transmits the first information to the external device 100 (S302). Here, in the first embodiment, the first information may be information included in the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84, or it may be information generated by the control unit 80 of printer 1 based on the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84.

[0039] As shown in Figure 6(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 waits after transmitting the first information request signal in S102 until it receives the first information transmitted from the printer 1 (S203: NO), and when it receives the first information (S203: YES), it executes a decision process (S204). In the first embodiment, the process of transmitting the first information request signal to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 in S202 and receiving the first information transmitted from the control unit 80 of the printer 1 in S302 corresponds to the "first acquisition process" of the present invention.

[0040] In the decision-making process, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes each of the four nozzle rows 9 according to the flow shown in Figure 7. More specifically, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines, based on the received first information, whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle among the nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 (S401). If there is an abnormal nozzle (S401: YES), it decides to acquire the second information in the abnormal nozzle information (S402), and if there is no abnormal nozzle (S401: NO), it decides not to acquire the second information (S403). The second information is information on whether or not each of the multiple nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is an abnormal nozzle, and the amount of data is larger than the first information which indicates whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle among the nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9.

[0041] Returning to Figure 6(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100, after the decision processing in S204, determines whether or not there is a nozzle row 9 for which it has determined to acquire second information, based on the result of the decision processing (S205). If there is no nozzle row 9 for which it has determined to acquire second information (S205: NO), the elapsed time T is reset to 0 (S208), and the process returns to S201. If there is a nozzle row 9 for which it has determined to acquire second information (S205: YES), a second information request signal is sent to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 requesting second information for the multiple nozzles 10 that form the nozzle row 9 for which it has determined to acquire (S206).

[0042] In the printer 1's control unit 80, as shown in Figure 6(b), after transmitting the first information in S302, it waits until a predetermined time has elapsed or until it receives a second information request signal transmitted from the external device 100 (S303: NO, S304: NO). If the predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the second information request signal (S304: NO), it returns to S301. The case where the predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the second information request signal is when the control unit 101 of the external device 100 has not transmitted the second information request signal. Also, if the second information request signal is received before the predetermined time has elapsed (S303: NO), (S304: YES), the printer 1's control unit 80 transmits the second information to the external device 100 (S305) and returns to S301.

[0043] As shown in Figure 6(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 sends a second information request signal in S206, waits until it receives the second information transmitted from the printer 1 (S207: NO), and when it receives the second information (S207: YES), it resets the elapsed time T to 0 (S208) and returns to S201. In the first embodiment, the process of sending a second information request signal to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 in S206 and receiving the second information transmitted from the control unit 80 of the printer 1 in S305 corresponds to the "second acquisition process" of the present invention. Furthermore, when the control unit 101 of the external device 100 receives the second information, it stores the received second information in the storage unit 102.

[0044] <Effects> In the first embodiment, the control unit 101 in the external device 100 acquires first information, which has a smaller data size than second information, from the printer 1, and determines whether or not to acquire second information based on the first information. If it determines to acquire second information, it acquires second information from the printer 1. On the other hand, when the printer 1 receives a first information request signal from the external device 100, it transmits first information, which has a smaller data size than second information, to the external device 100, and then transmits second information to the external device 100 only when it receives a second information request signal from the external device 100. This ensures that information is exchanged between the printer 1 and the external device 100 only when necessary. This allows for the transmission and reception of large amounts of data, minimizing the time required for communication between printer 1 and external device 100.

[0045] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, since the first information is information about whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle, the second information, which has a large amount of data, can be acquired only when there is an abnormal nozzle, and the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be minimized.

[0046] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, since the first information is individual information for each nozzle row 9, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to acquire the second information from the printer 1 based on the individual first information for each nozzle row 9. Then, the second information can be transmitted and received between the printer 1 and the external device 100 only when necessary. This minimizes the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100.

[0047] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, it is determined individually whether or not to acquire the second information for each nozzle row 9. Then, only the second information for the nozzle row 9 for which it is determined that the second information should be acquired is obtained from the printer 1. This reduces the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 compared to always acquiring all the second information for all nozzle row 9.

[0048] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the second information is information indicating whether or not each of the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4 is an abnormal nozzle, and the amount of data is large. Therefore, in the first embodiment, as described above, by having the external device 100 acquire the second information from the printer 1 only when necessary, the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be minimized.

[0049] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the external device 100 acquires first information from the printer 1 every predetermined time T1 and acquires second information from the printer 1 only if it determines it is necessary based on the first information. This reduces the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 compared to the case where the external device 100 acquires second information from the printer 1 every predetermined time T1.

[0050] [Second Embodiment] Next, a preferred second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, the first information and the flow of the decision processing differ from those of the first embodiment.

[0051] In the second embodiment, the first information is information about the number of abnormal nozzles in each nozzle row 9. Also in the second embodiment, the second information is information about whether or not each of the plurality of nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is an abnormal nozzle. Therefore, the amount of data for the second information is larger than that for the first information. In addition, in the second embodiment, the first information may be information included in the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84 of the printer 1, or it may be information generated by the control unit 80 of the printer 1 based on the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84.

[0052] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, during the decision-making process, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes each of the four nozzle rows 9 according to the flow shown in Figure 7. It processes according to the flow shown in Figure 8(a). The flow shown in Figure 8(a) is the same as the flow shown in Figure 7, but with S401 replaced by S501.

[0053] In S501, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines, based on the received first information, whether the number of abnormal nozzles in the nozzle row 9 is greater than or equal to a threshold. In the second embodiment, as shown in Figure 8(b), threshold values ​​Hk, Hy, Hc, and Hm are set individually for each color of ink to be ejected, i.e., for each nozzle row 9. The threshold values ​​Hk, Hy, Hc, and Hm may all be different, one to three of them may be the same, or all of them may be the same.

[0054] If the number of abnormal nozzles in nozzle row 9 is greater than or equal to the threshold (S501: YES), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides to acquire the second information (S402). If the number of abnormal nozzles in nozzle row 9 is less than the threshold (S501: NO), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides not to acquire the second information (S403).

[0055] <Effects> In the second embodiment, since the transmission and reception of large amounts of second information between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be performed only when there are many abnormal nozzles, the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be minimized.

[0056] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, a threshold is set individually for each nozzle row 9, and a decision is made whether or not to acquire the second information based on the number of abnormal nozzles in each nozzle row 9. This makes it possible to appropriately decide whether or not to acquire the second information for each nozzle row 9, according to the characteristics of the ink ejected from the nozzle 10.

[0057] [Third Embodiment] Next, a preferred third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The third embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first and second embodiments. However, in the third embodiment, the flow of first information and decision processing differs from that of the first and second embodiments.

[0058] In the third embodiment, the first information is information regarding the number of abnormal nozzles and the number of unrecoverable nozzles that cannot be recovered by suction purging in each nozzle row 9. The first information regarding the number of abnormal nozzles and the number of unrecoverable nozzles may include information regarding the number of abnormal nozzles and the number of unrecoverable nozzles, or it may be other information corresponding to the number of abnormal nozzles and the number of unrecoverable nozzles, such as information regarding the number obtained by subtracting the number of unrecoverable nozzles from the number of abnormal nozzles. Furthermore, when the control unit 80 of the printer 1 stores nozzle information in the flash memory 84 during the inspection process, it determines whether an abnormal nozzle is an unrecoverable nozzle based on whether the nozzle determined to be an abnormal nozzle in the current inspection process was determined to be an abnormal nozzle in any of the subsequent inspection processes, including the current inspection process, for a predetermined number of times or more.

[0059] Furthermore, in the third embodiment as well, the second information is information regarding whether or not each of the plurality of nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is an abnormal nozzle. Therefore, the amount of data in the second information is larger than that of the first information. In addition, in the third embodiment as well, the first information may be information included in the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84 of the printer 1, or it may be information generated by the control unit 80 of the printer 1 based on the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84.

[0060] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, during the decision-making process, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes each of the four nozzle rows 9 according to the flow shown in Figure 9(a). The flow shown in Figure 9(a) is the same as the flow shown in Figure 7, but with S401 replaced by S601.

[0061] In S601, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines, based on the received first information, whether the number obtained by subtracting the number of unrecoverable nozzles from the number of abnormal nozzles in the nozzle row 9 (hereinafter referred to as the "number of recoverable nozzles") is greater than or equal to a threshold. In the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, a threshold is set individually for each color of ink to be ejected, i.e., for each nozzle row 9.

[0062] If the number of recoverable nozzles in nozzle row 9 is equal to or greater than the threshold (S601: YES), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides to acquire the second information (S402). If the number of recoverable nozzles in nozzle row 9 is less than the threshold (S601: NO), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides not to acquire the second information (S403).

[0063] <Effects> In the third embodiment, the transmission and reception of large amounts of second information between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be performed only when the number obtained by subtracting the number of unrecoverable nozzles from the number of abnormal nozzles (the number of recoverable nozzles) is large, thereby minimizing the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100.

[0064] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, a threshold is set individually for each nozzle row 9, and a decision is made whether or not to acquire the second information based on the number of recoverable nozzles in each nozzle row 9. This makes it possible to appropriately decide whether or not to acquire the second information for each nozzle row 9, according to the characteristics of the ink ejected from the nozzle 10.

[0065] [Fourth Embodiment] Next, a preferred fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The third embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first to third embodiments. However, in the fourth embodiment, the first information and the flow of the decision processing differ from those of the first to third embodiments.

[0066] In the fourth embodiment, the first information indicates whether the nozzle information currently stored in the flash memory 84 for each nozzle row 9 has been updated from the information stored in the flash memory 84 when the control unit 80 of the printer 1 previously transmitted the second information to the external device 100. Also in the fourth embodiment, the second information is information on whether each of the multiple nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is an abnormal nozzle. Therefore, the amount of data in the second information is larger than that of the first information.

[0067] In the fourth embodiment, the control unit 80 of the printer 1 stores first information in the flash memory 84 during the inspection process in S102, indicating whether the nozzle information to be stored this time is updated from the nozzle information stored when the second information was previously transmitted to the external device 100. Then, in S302, the control unit 80 of the printer 1 transmits the stored first information to the external device 100.

[0068] Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, during the decision-making process, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes each of the four nozzle rows 9 according to the flow shown in Figure 9(b). The flow in Figure 9(b) is the same as the flow in Figure 7, but with S401 replaced by S701.

[0069] In S701, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines, based on the received first information, whether the nozzle information has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the printer 1's control unit 80 previously transmitted the second information. If the nozzle information has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the printer 1's control unit 80 previously transmitted the second information (S701: YES), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides to acquire the second information (S402). If the nozzle information has not been updated from the nozzle information stored when the printer 1's control unit 80 previously transmitted the second information (S701: NO), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 decides not to acquire the second information (S403).

[0070] <Effects> If the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84 of printer 1 has not been updated from the nozzle information stored when the control unit 80 of printer 1 last transmitted the second information, acquiring the second information will result in acquiring the same second information as before, leading to unnecessary communication between printer 1 and the external device 100. In the fourth embodiment, the first information indicates whether the nozzle information stored in the flash memory 84 of printer 1 has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the control unit 80 of printer 1 last transmitted the second information. The second information, which has a large amount of data, is acquired only if the nozzle information has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the control unit 80 of printer 1 last transmitted the second information. This minimizes the time required for communication between printer 1 and the external device 100.

[0071] [Fifth Embodiment] Next, a preferred fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fifth embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, when the printer 1 records on the recording paper P, first information and second information are transmitted and received between the control unit 80 of the printer 1 and the control unit 101 of the external device 100.

[0072] More specifically, the flow shown in Figure 10(a) begins when the control unit 101 of the external device 100 receives a recording command (the "instruction signal" of the present invention) that instructs it to record on the recording paper P. At this point, when the user performs an operation to instruct the external device 100 to record on the recording paper P, the operation unit 68 transmits a recording command to the control unit 80, and the control unit 80 receives this recording command. At this time, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 also receives image data of the image to be recorded following the recording command.

[0073] When the flow shown in Figure 10(a) begins, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 sends a first information request signal to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 (S801), similar to S202 in the first embodiment. The control unit 80 of the printer 1 then executes the S901 and S902 processes, similar to S301 and S302 in the first embodiment, as shown in Figure 10(b).

[0074] As shown in Figure 10(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 executes the same S802 to S806 processes as S203 to S207 in the first embodiment after the first information request processing in S801. Thus, in the fifth embodiment as well, if the control unit 101 of the external device 100 determines in the decision processing that there is a nozzle row 9 for which it is necessary to acquire second information (S804: YES), it sends a second information request signal to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 (S805).

[0075] As shown in Figure 10(b), if the control unit 80 of printer 1 receives a second information request signal from the external device 100 after transmitting the first information in S902 (S903: YES), it transmits the second information to the control unit 101 of the external device 100 (S904).

[0076] On the other hand, in the fifth embodiment, if there is no nozzle row 9 for which it is determined in S804 to acquire second information (S804: NO), and if the second information transmitted from the printer 1 is received in S806 (S806: YES), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 generates recording data (the "ejection data" of the present invention) (S807, "generation process" of the present invention). The recording data includes data for causing the inkjet head 4 to eject ink from a plurality of nozzles 10 in a recording path described later, and data indicating the amount of recording paper P transported in the transport operation described later.

[0077] If there is no nozzle row 9 that is determined to acquire the second information (S804: NO), that is, when generating recorded data without acquiring the second information, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 generates recorded data based on the image data. At this time, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 performs image processing on the image data, such as color conversion from RGB to KYCM.

[0078] Alternatively, when generating recorded data without acquiring second information, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 may generate recorded data based on image data and second information acquired during past recordings, etc. In this case, in addition to performing the image processing described above, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 generates recorded data by setting the correspondence between dots formed on the recording paper P and the nozzles 10 according to the distribution of abnormal nozzles.

[0079] Furthermore, when generating recording data after receiving the second information (S806:YES), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 generates the recording data based on the image data and the second information received this time.

[0080] The control unit 101 of the external device 100 transmits the generated recording data to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 after generating the recording data in S807 (S808, "transmission process" of the present invention). The control unit 80 of the printer 1 executes the recording process (S906) when it receives the recording data without receiving the second information request signal (S903: NO) (S905: YES), or when it receives the recording data after transmitting the second information in S904 (S905: YES).

[0081] In the recording process, the carriage motor 86 is controlled to move the carriage 2 in the scanning direction, and a recording path is performed in which ink is ejected from multiple nozzles 10 to the inkjet head 4 based on the recording data. In addition, a transport operation is performed in which the transport motor 87 is controlled to transport the recording paper P to the transport rollers 6 and 7 by the amount indicated by the recording data. This process is repeated to record onto the recording paper P.

[0082] Here, we will briefly explain the recording data generated in S807. For example, if there are no abnormal nozzles, in the Nth and (N+1)th recording passes, each of the multiple nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is assigned to one of the dots D formed in each recording pass, as shown in Figure 11(a). In addition, the amount of recording paper P transported during the transport operation between the Nth and (N+1)th recording passes is set to a transport amount L1 corresponding to the length of the nozzle row 9 in the transport direction.

[0083] In Figures 11(a) to (c), the hatched dot D in the diagrams showing the Nth recording path indicates the dot D formed in the Nth recording path. In Figures 11(a) to (c), the hatched dot D indicates the dot D formed in the (N+1)th recording path, while the unhatched dot D indicates the dot D formed in the Nth recording path.

[0084] On the other hand, if there is an abnormal nozzle, as described above, in the Nth and (N+1)th recording paths, each of the multiple nozzles 10 forming the nozzle row 9 is assigned one of the dots D formed in each recording path, and the amount of recording paper P transported during the transport operation between the Nth and (N+1)th recording paths is set to L1, so that the dot D corresponding to the abnormal nozzle is not recorded. Note that the nozzles 10 marked with an × in Figures 11(b) and (c) are abnormal nozzles.

[0085] Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, if there is an abnormal nozzle, for example, as shown in Figure 11(c), one of the dots D formed in each recording path is assigned only to the nozzles 10 that are not abnormal among the multiple nozzles 10 that form the nozzle row 9 in the Nth recording path and the (N+1)th recording path. In addition, the amount of recording paper P transported during the transport operation between the Nth recording path and the (N+1)th recording path is set to a transport amount L2 that is shorter than the transport amount L1.

[0086] Thus, if there is an abnormal nozzle, as shown in Figure 11(b), when dot D is assigned to each of the multiple nozzles 10 that form the nozzle row 9, recording data is generated that compensates for the abnormal nozzle by having ink ejected from another nozzle 10 to form the corresponding dot D. Note that the assignment of dot D to the nozzles 10 shown in Figures 11(a) to (c), and the amount of recording paper P transported during the transport operation are examples only and are not limited to these.

[0087] <Effects> In the fifth embodiment, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 acquires the second information from the printer 1 before generating the recording data only when it is necessary to acquire the second information in order to generate the recording data, and generates the recording data based on the acquired second information. As a result, when it is not necessary to acquire the second information in order to generate the recording data, the recording data can be generated without acquiring the second information. Consequently, the time required for communication between the printer 1 and the external device 100 can be minimized compared to the case where the second information is acquired every time before generating the recording data.

[0088] Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment, when generating recorded data after receiving the second information, the generated recorded data is such that dots corresponding to the abnormal nozzle are formed by ejecting ink from the non-abnormal nozzle 10. This makes it possible to form dots on the recording paper P in the same way as when there is no abnormal nozzle, even if there is an abnormal nozzle.

[0089] [Sixth Embodiment] Next, a preferred sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The sixth embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 12(a), and the control unit 80 of the printer 1 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 12(b). As a result, when the printer 1 records on the recording paper P, the control unit 80 of the printer 1 and the control unit 101 of the external device 100 transmit and receive first information and second information.

[0090] The flow shown in Figure 12(a) begins when the control unit 101 of the external device 100 receives a record command. When the control unit 101 of the external device 100 receives a record command, it executes the same processes S801 to S808 as in the fifth embodiment. Correspondingly, as shown in Figure 12(b), the control unit 80 of the printer 1 executes the same processes S901 to S906 as in the fifth embodiment.

[0091] Then, as shown in Figure 12(b), the control unit 80 of printer 1 determines whether or not the second information has been sent to the external device 100 after the recording process in S906 (S1101). That is, it determines whether the recording process in S906 was performed after the transmission of the second information in S904, or whether the recording process in S906 was performed without the transmission of the second information in S904. If the second information has been sent to the external device 100 (S1101: YES), the process ends. If the second information has not been sent to the external device 100 (S1101: NO), the control unit 80 of printer 1 sends the second information to the external device 100 (S1102) and the process ends.

[0092] As shown in Figure 12(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 waits after the transmission of the recording data in S808 until the second information has been received (S1001: NO). When the second information has been received (S1001: YES), processing is terminated. As a result, if the second information has been received in S806, processing is terminated immediately. On the other hand, if the second information request signal in S805 has not been transmitted and the second information has not been received in S806, processing is terminated when the second information transmitted from the control unit 80 of the printer 1 is received in S1102.

[0093] <Effects> In the sixth embodiment, when the external device 100 does not need to acquire the second information to generate the recording data, the second information is acquired from the printer 1 after the transmission of the recording data from the external device 100 to the printer 1 is complete. This ensures that the transmission and reception of the second information between the printer 1 and the external device 100 does not affect the transmission and reception of the recording data between the printer 1 and the external device 100.

[0094] [Seventh Embodiment] Next, a preferred seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. The seventh embodiment also relates to a printer 1 and an external device 100, similar to the first embodiment. In the seventh embodiment, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 13(a), and the control unit 80 of the printer 1 processes according to the flow shown in Figure 13(b). As a result, when the printer 1 records on the recording paper P, the control unit 80 of the printer 1 and the control unit 101 of the external device 100 transmit and receive first information and second information.

[0095] The flow shown in Figure 13(a) begins when the control unit 101 of the external device 100 receives a recording command. The control unit 101 of the external device 100 then generates recording data (S1201) and transmits the generated recording data to the control unit 80 of the printer 1 (S1202). In S1201, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 generates recording data based on image data and second information received during past recordings and stored in the storage unit 102.

[0096] As shown in Figure 13(b), the control unit 80 of printer 1 waits until it receives recording data transmitted from the external device 100 (S1301:NO), and when it receives the recording data (S1301:YES), it performs the same recording process as in S906 of the fifth embodiment (S1302).

[0097] As shown in Figure 13(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 sends a first information request signal to the printer 1 after the transmission of the recording data in S1202 (S1203). As shown in Figure 13(b), the control unit 80 of the printer 1 waits after the recording process in S1102 until it receives the first information request signal transmitted from the external device 100 (S1303: NO), and when it receives the first information request signal (S1303: YES), it sends the first information to the external device 100 (S1304).

[0098] As shown in Figure 13(a), the control unit 101 of the external device 100 waits after transmitting the first information request signal in S1203 until it receives the first information transmitted from the printer 1 (S1204: NO). When it receives the first information (S1204: YES), it executes the processing in S1205 to S1208, which is the same as S204 to S207 in the first embodiment. Then, if there is no nozzle row 9 that is determined to acquire the second information (S1206: NO), and when the second information is received (S1208: YES), it terminates the process.

[0099] As shown in Figure 13(b), the control unit 80 of printer 1 executes the same processing as S303 to S305 in the first embodiment, from S1305 to S1307, after transmitting the first information in S1304. Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed (S1305: YES) and when the second information is transmitted in S1307, the processing is terminated.

[0100] <Effects> In the seventh embodiment, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 does not perform any processing for sending and receiving the first and second information with the printer 1 before generating and transmitting the recorded data. Then, after the transmission of the recorded data to the printer 1 is complete, the control unit 101 of the external device 100 acquires the first information from the printer 1 and acquires the second information if it deems it necessary. This ensures that the transmission and reception of the first and second information between the printer 1 and the external device 100 does not affect the transmission and reception of recorded data between the printer 1 and the external device 100.

[0101] [Differentiation] Although preferred first to seventh embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the first to seventh embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0102] For example, in the second and third embodiments, a threshold was set individually for each nozzle row 9, and it was determined whether the number of abnormal nozzles or the number of recoverable nozzles was equal to or greater than the threshold for each nozzle row 9, but this is not limited to this. For example, in the second and third embodiments, a common threshold could be set for four nozzle rows 9, and it could be determined whether the number of abnormal nozzles or the number of recoverable nozzles was equal to or greater than the threshold for each nozzle row 9.

[0103] Furthermore, in the first to seventh embodiments, the first information and the second information are separate pieces of information for each nozzle row 9. Then, for each nozzle row 9, it is determined whether or not to acquire the second information based on the first information, and the second information is received for the nozzle row 9 for which it is determined that the second information should be acquired. However, this is not the only embodiment.

[0104] For example, it may be determined individually for each nozzle row 9 whether or not to acquire second information based on first information, and if it is determined to acquire second information for a predetermined number or more nozzle rows 9, second information may be received for all nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4.

[0105] Furthermore, the first information does not have to be individual information for each nozzle row 9. For example, in the first embodiment, the first information may be information on whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle among the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4. Also, for example, in the second embodiment, the first information may be information indicating the number of abnormal nozzles among the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4. Also, for example, in the third embodiment, the first information may be information indicating the number of recoverable nozzles among the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4. Also, in the fourth embodiment, the first information may be information on whether or not the nozzle information for the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4 has been updated.

[0106] Furthermore, in the first to seventh embodiments, the second information was information indicating whether or not each of the multiple nozzles 10 was an abnormal nozzle, but it is not limited to this. The second information may be other information with a larger data volume than the first information.

[0107] Furthermore, in the first to fourth embodiments, processing for sending and receiving the first and second information was performed at predetermined time intervals T1, but this is not limited to this. For example, processing for sending and receiving the first and second information may be performed at other predetermined cycles, such as each time a predetermined number of recordings are made on the recording paper P.

[0108] Alternatively, in printer 1, processing for sending and receiving the first and second information may be performed when conditions other than those specified for each predetermined cycle are met, which indicate a high probability of nozzle information changing.

[0109] Furthermore, in the fifth to seventh embodiments, when there is an abnormal nozzle, recording data is generated to compensate for the absence of abnormal nozzles, regardless of the number of abnormal nozzles, etc., by having ink ejected from another nozzle 10 that is not an abnormal nozzle, based on the second information. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, if it is difficult to generate recording data as described above due to conditions such as the number of abnormal nozzles and the distribution of abnormal nozzles indicated by the second information, or if generating recording data as described above would result in too many recording passes required to record the image, the recording data may be generated after performing a suction purge to eliminate abnormal nozzles.

[0110] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, an unrecoverable nozzle was defined as an abnormal nozzle that could not be recovered by suction purging, but this is not the only definition. For example, in a printer, if it is possible to selectively perform one of several types of suction purging with different ink discharge forces from an abnormal nozzle, an abnormal nozzle that cannot be recovered even by the suction purging with the strongest ink discharge force may be defined as an unrecoverable nozzle.

[0111] Furthermore, the recovery operation for restoring abnormal nozzles is not limited to suction purging. For example, a pressure pump may be provided in the flow path between the ink cartridge 14 and the inkjet head 4 to pressurize the ink inside the inkjet head 4. Then, as a recovery operation, a pressurized purge may be performed to discharge the ink inside the inkjet head 4 by driving the pressure pump while multiple nozzles 10 are covered with caps 71. In this case, the caps 71 and the pressure pump constitute the "recovery means" of the present invention.

[0112] Alternatively, as a recovery operation, both suction purging by driving the suction pump 72 and pressurized purging by driving the aforementioned pressurized pump may be performed. In this case, the maintenance unit 8 and the pressurized pump constitute the "recovery means" of the present invention.

[0113] Furthermore, the recovery operation is not limited to purging. For example, the recovery operation may involve flushing the inkjet head 4 to expel ink from the faulty nozzle. In this case, the flushing corresponds to the "recovery operation" of the present invention, and the inkjet head 4 also serves as the "recovery means" of the present invention.

[0114] Furthermore, in the above example, the determination of whether the nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle was made based on the signal output from the signal processing circuit 78 in response to the change in voltage at the electrode 76 located inside the cap 71 from the nozzle 10 when the inkjet head 4 was driven for inspection, but this is not the only method.

[0115] For example, instead of electrode 76, an electrode extending vertically and facing the space below nozzle 10 when carriage 2 is in the maintenance position may be provided. The signal processing circuit 78 may then output a signal corresponding to the change in voltage of the above electrode when inspection drive is performed with carriage 2 in the maintenance position.

[0116] Alternatively, for example, an optical sensor may be provided that directly detects the ink ejected from the nozzle 10 when the carriage 2 is in a predetermined position such as a maintenance position, and outputs a signal according to the detection result. Based on the signal output from this optical sensor, it may be determined whether or not the nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle.

[0117] Alternatively, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4929699, a voltage detection circuit that detects changes in voltage when ink is ejected from a nozzle may be connected to the plate on which the nozzles of the inkjet head are formed, and it may be determined whether a nozzle is an abnormal nozzle based on the signal output from the voltage detection circuit when the operation to eject ink from the nozzle is performed with the carriage moved to the inspection position.

[0118] Alternatively, for example, the substrate of the inkjet head may be equipped with a temperature sensing element, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6231759. Then, after applying a first applied voltage to drive the heater for ink ejection, a second applied voltage may be applied to drive the heater to prevent ink ejection, and a signal may be output based on the temperature change detected by the temperature sensing element from the time the second applied voltage is applied until a predetermined time has elapsed, indicating whether the nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle or not.

[0119] Alternatively, the printer may be instructed to record a predetermined test pattern, and the presence or absence of a faulty nozzle may be determined based on the recorded test pattern. In this case, if the printer is a multifunction device with a scanner, the recorded test pattern may be input by having the scanner read the test pattern. Alternatively, the recorded test pattern may be input by having the user operate the control unit 68 or an external device based on the recorded test pattern.

[0120] Furthermore, in the above example, all nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4 were subjected to a test drive to determine whether or not a nozzle 10 was an abnormal nozzle, but this is not limited to this. For example, only some nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 4, such as every other nozzle 10 in each nozzle row 9, may be subjected to a test drive to determine whether or not a nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle. Then, for the remaining nozzles 10, it may be estimated whether or not a nozzle 10 is an abnormal nozzle based on the results of the determination for the aforementioned partial nozzles 10.

[0121] Furthermore, in the above example, we determined whether nozzle 10 is a defective nozzle based on whether or not ink was ejected from nozzle 10, but this is not the only way. For example, we may also determine whether or not nozzle 10 is a defective nozzle based on the direction and speed of ink ejection.

[0122] Furthermore, while the above describes an example of applying the present invention to a printer equipped with a so-called serial head that ejects ink from multiple nozzles while moving in the scanning direction with the carriage, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a printer equipped with a so-called line head that extends along the entire length of the recording paper in the scanning direction.

[0123] Furthermore, while the above description has focused on an example of applying the present invention to a printer that ejects ink from a nozzle to record on recording paper P, the invention is not limited to this. It can also be applied to printers that record images on recording media other than recording paper, such as T-shirts, outdoor advertising sheets, cases for mobile devices such as smartphones, cardboard, and resin materials. It can also be applied to liquid dispensing devices that dispense liquids other than ink, such as liquid resin or metal. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0124] 1: Printer 4: Inkjet head 8: Maintenance Unit 9: Nozzle row 10: Nozzle 68:Operation unit 71: Cap 73: Pump 80: Control Unit 84: Flash memory 100: External device 101: Control Unit

Claims

1. A program for controlling an external device that can communicate with a liquid dispensing device comprising a head having multiple nozzles and a storage unit that stores nozzle information indicating the state of the multiple nozzles, On the computer, A first acquisition process for acquiring first information corresponding to the nozzle information from the liquid dispensing device, Based on the first information, the system performs a decision process to determine whether or not to acquire second information from the liquid dispensing device, which is information corresponding to the nozzle information and has a larger data volume than the first information. If the judgment process determines that the second information is to be obtained from the liquid dispensing device, A program characterized by causing the program to execute a second acquisition process for acquiring the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

2. The first information is information regarding whether or not there is an abnormal nozzle among the plurality of nozzles of the head that is causing an abnormality in the discharge of liquid. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the determination process, if the first information indicates the presence of an abnormal nozzle, it is determined to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

3. The first information is information relating to the number of abnormal nozzles in the plurality of nozzles of the head that are abnormal in the discharge of liquid, The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the determination process, if the first information indicates that the number of abnormal nozzles is equal to or greater than a threshold, it is determined to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

4. The liquid discharge device is equipped with a recovery means that performs a recovery operation to discharge liquid from the nozzle and restore the abnormal nozzle that is experiencing an abnormality in liquid discharge, The first information is information relating to the number of abnormal nozzles in the plurality of nozzles of the head, and the number of unrecoverable nozzles which are abnormal nozzles that cannot be recovered by the recovery operation. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the determination process, if the first information indicates that the number obtained by subtracting the number of unrecoverable nozzles from the number of abnormal nozzles is greater than or equal to a threshold, it is determined to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

5. The first information is information relating to whether the nozzle information currently stored in the memory unit of the liquid dispensing device has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the liquid dispensing device last transmitted the second information. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the determination process, if the first information indicates that the nozzle information has been updated, it is determined to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

6. The plurality of nozzles include a plurality of first nozzles and a plurality of second nozzles that discharge different types of liquid from the plurality of first nozzles. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first information is individual information for the plurality of first nozzles and the plurality of second nozzles.

7. The plurality of nozzles include a plurality of first nozzles and a plurality of second nozzles that discharge different types of liquid from the plurality of first nozzles. The first information is individual information for each of the plurality of first nozzles and the plurality of second nozzles, The program according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, in the determination process, the threshold is set individually for the first nozzle and the second nozzle, and a determination is made as to whether or not to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device.

8. The plurality of nozzles include a plurality of first nozzles and a plurality of second nozzles that discharge different types of liquid from the plurality of first nozzles. The first information is individual information for each of the plurality of first nozzles and the second nozzles. In the aforementioned determination process, it is determined individually whether or not to acquire the second information for the plurality of first nozzles from the liquid dispensing device, and whether or not to acquire the second information for the plurality of second nozzles from the liquid dispensing device. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, in the second acquisition process, only the second information for the plurality of first nozzles and the second information for the plurality of second nozzles that the decision process determines to acquire is acquired from the liquid dispensing device.

9. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the second information is information indicating whether or not each of the plurality of nozzles of the head is an abnormal nozzle that is abnormal in the discharge of liquid.

10. On the computer, When an instruction signal is received that instructs the dispensing of liquid into the dispensing medium, A generation process for generating discharge data to cause the liquid dispensing device to dispense liquid onto the medium to be dispensed, The process involves transmitting the discharge data generated in the generation process to the liquid discharge device, and then executing a transmission process. After receiving the instruction signal, and before the transmission process, the first acquisition process and the determination process are executed. If the judgment process determines that the second information is to be obtained from the liquid dispensing device, The second acquisition process is executed before the generation process, In the generation process described above, the output data is generated based on the second information, If the judgment process determines that the second information is not to be obtained from the liquid dispensing device, The program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the second acquisition process is not executed before the generation process and the transmission process.

11. On the computer, The program according to claim 10, characterized in that if the determination process determines not to acquire the second information from the liquid dispensing device, the program causes the second acquisition process to be executed after the completion of the transmission process.

12. On the computer, When an instruction signal is received that instructs the liquid dispensing device to dispense liquid onto the dispensing medium, a generation process is performed to generate dispensing data for causing the liquid dispensing device to dispense liquid onto the dispensing medium, The system performs a transmission process that sends data including the aforementioned discharge data to the liquid discharge device. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the first acquisition process is executed after the completion of the transmission process.

13. On the computer, If the judgment process determines that the second information is to be obtained from the liquid dispensing device, After executing the second acquisition process, the generation process is executed. The program according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, in the generation process, it generates discharge data based on the second information such that dots corresponding to abnormal nozzles with abnormal liquid discharge are formed by discharging liquid from nozzles that are not abnormal nozzles.

14. On the computer, The program according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it causes the first acquisition process to be executed at predetermined cycle intervals.

15. A liquid dispensing device capable of communicating with an external device, A head having multiple nozzles, A storage unit that stores nozzle information indicating the state of the multiple nozzles, It comprises a control unit and, The control unit, When a first signal instructing the transmission of first information corresponding to the nozzle information is received from the external device, the first information is transmitted to the external device. Subsequently, when a second signal is received from the external device instructing the transmission of second information, which corresponds to the nozzle information and has a larger data volume than the first information, the second information is transmitted to the external device. A liquid dispensing device characterized in that, when the second signal is not received, the second information is not transmitted to the external device.

16. The head includes a signal transmitting unit that transmits a signal indicating whether or not liquid was successfully discharged from the nozzle by the inspection drive when an inspection drive is performed to discharge liquid from the nozzle. The control unit, The head is made to perform the inspection drive, and an inspection process is performed in which the nozzle information is stored in the storage unit based on the signal transmitted from the signal transmission unit when the inspection drive is performed. The liquid dispensing device according to claim 15, characterized in that, in the inspection process, the storage unit stores first information regarding whether or not the nozzle information to be stored in the storage unit has been updated from the nozzle information stored when the second information was transmitted last time.

17. The plurality of nozzles include a plurality of first nozzles and a plurality of second nozzles, The storage unit individually stores the first information for the plurality of first nozzles and the first information for the second nozzles. The liquid dispensing device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that when the first signal is received from the external device, the first information for the plurality of first nozzles and the first information for the plurality of second nozzles are transmitted to the external device.

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