Inkjet recording apparatus and method therefor including inquiry and notification features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016207338-A1
Application number	US-201615001485-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 20, 2016
Priority date	Jan 21, 2015
Publication date	Jul 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An inkjet recording apparatus includes an ink tank, a recording head, a monitor, an operation panel, and a controller. The ink tank forms an ink chamber and including an injection inlet. The recording head ejects ink from the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet. The operation panel receives user input. The controller controls operation of the recording head, the monitor, and the operation panel. The controller performs receiving a completion signal indicating completion of ink injection, decision processing deciding whether an initial processing has been completed, and inquiry processing based on receipt of the completion signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An inkjet recording apparatus comprising:
an ink tank forming an ink chamber and including an injection inlet; a recording head configured to eject ink from the ink chamber to record an image on a sheet; a monitor; an operation panel configured to receive user input; a controller configured to control operation of the recording head, the monitor, and the operation panel, wherein the controller is configured to: receive a completion signal indicating completion of ink injection; perform decision processing deciding whether an initial processing has been completed, the initial processing corresponding to filling a flow path from ink chamber to the recording head with ink; based on receipt of the completion signal, perform inquiry processing corresponding to controlling the monitor to display inquiry information on the monitor regarding whether ink injection into the ink chamber is completed and controlling the operation panel to allow receipt at the operation panel of a response to the inquiry information; and based on decision that the initial processing has not been the completed in the decision processing and based on receipt of one response to the inquiry information in the inquiry processing, perform the initial processing, the one response corresponding to completion of the ink injection, wherein, based on the decision that the initial processing has not been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to continue to perform the inquiry processing until the receipt of the one response to the inquiry information in the inquiry processing.

2 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, based on decision that the initial processing has not been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to perform the initial processing only the receipt of the one response.

3 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein, based on decision that the initial processing has not been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to continue to perform the inquiry processing regardless of the receipt of different response to the inquiry information through the operation panel, the different response is different from the one response.

4 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the operation panel is configured to receive the different response includes the other response corresponding to incompletion of the ink injection.

5 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the operation panel is configured to receive the different response includes process response corresponding to performing a predetermined process of the inkjet recording apparatus.

6 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein, based on decision that the initial processing has not been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to continue to perform the inquiry processing without performing the predetermined processing.

7 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the predetermined processing corresponding to turning off the inkjet recording apparatus.

8 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, based on decision that the initial processing has been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to finish the inquiry processing and perform the predetermined processing based on the receipt of the process response in the inquiry processing.

9 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, based on the decision that the initial processing has been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to perform finishing the inquiry processing based on either the receipt of the one response and the other response, the other response corresponding to incompletion of the ink injection.

10 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein, based on the decision that the initial processing has been completed in the decision processing, the controller is configured to perform finishing the inquiry processing based on a length of an elapsed time since the inquiry processing has started reaches a threshold time.

11 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to decide that receipt of the other response in response to the length of the elapsed time reached the threshold time.

12 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller includes a memory including an initial flag area configured to store either first value and a second value based on whether the initial processing has been completed, the first value being stored before the initial processing having not been completed and the second value being stored after completion of the initial processing, and wherein, in the decision processing, the controller is configured to decide whether the initial processing has been completed based on whether the first value or the second value is stored in the initial flag area of the memory.

13 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of ink chambers and a plurality of injection inlets, each of the plurality of ink chambers associated with a different one of the plurality of injection inlets.

14 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the ink tank includes the plurality of ink chambers and the plurality of injection inlets.

15 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to perform:
the inquiry processing corresponding to controlling the monitor to display the inquiry information on the monitor regarding whether ink injection into each of the plurality of ink chambers is completed; and the initial processing only based on the receipt of each of the one response, the each of the one response corresponding to completion of the ink injection into the each of the plurality of ink chambers.

16 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a cover movable between a covering position and an exposing position, the covering position corresponding to the cover covering the each of the plurality of injection inlets and the exposing position corresponding to the cover exposing the each of the plurality of injection inlets; and a cover sensor positioned to output a signal depending on the position of the cover.

17 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 16 ,
wherein the cover sensor is configured to output either a first positional signal and a second positional signal, the first positional signal corresponding to the cover being positioned in the covering position and the second positional signal corresponding to the cover being positioned in the exposing position; and wherein the completion signal corresponds to the first positional signal.

18 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the plurality of the ink chambers comprises a first ink chamber and a second ink chamber, the first ink chamber configured to store ink in a first color and the second ink chamber configured to store ink in a second color different from the first color.

19 . The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the controller is configured to perform in the inquiry processing:
first inquiry processing corresponding to controlling the monitor to display first inquiry in

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Honoki Mana
• Horade Kenta

Classifications

• B41J29/13

  Cases or covers · CPC title

• B41J29/02

  Framework · CPC title

• B41J29/38 Primary

  Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism · CPC title

• B41J2/175

  Ink supply systems {; Circuit parts therefor} · CPC title

• B41J2/17513

  Inner structure · CPC title