JP3430872B2 - Recovery operation support apparatus and method for printing apparatus, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recovery operation support technique for a printing apparatus, which displays on a monitor such as a CRT, information for supporting a recovery operation for solving a problem of a printing result by a printing apparatus such as a printer. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information for supporting a recovery operation for solving a problem of a print result by a printer, so-called troubleshooting information, has been
It was published in the printer's instruction manual, which is a printed matter, and provided to users. However, in recent years,
Information on such printer troubleshooting has come to be provided to users by being recorded in a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, or the like as an electronic manual that can be read by a computer or the like.

Information regarding printer troubleshooting provided as such an electronic manual is
A recovery operation support device for a printer including a computer and its peripherals reads out from a CD-ROM, a flexible disk or the like, displays it on a monitor, and provides it to a user.

[0004]

However, in the conventional recovery operation support device for a printer, the information regarding troubleshooting is only displayed on the monitor as a document or an image, and the printed matter is simply replaced by the display on the monitor. It was nothing more than a thing, and as a result, it was not very user-friendly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recovery operation support device for a printing apparatus and a method thereof which can improve the usability for the user.

[0006]

In order to achieve at least a part of the above-mentioned object, the first recovery operation support device for a printing device of the present invention is connected to the printing device. Equipped with a monitor and an input device,
A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which displays on a monitor information for supporting a recovery operation for solving a problem of a printing result by the printing device according to an instruction input from the input device, Printing device drive control means for controlling the driving of the printing device, and a print result image displayed on the monitor as a sample image of an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device. When the display means and the start-up means displayed corresponding to the sample image or the sample image displayed by the input device are selected,
Alternatively, when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is input, the printing apparatus or the printing apparatus drive control unit is instructed to start a recovery operation for eliminating the defect in the printing result. The problem is to provide a means for instructing to solve the problem.

Further, the first recovery operation support method of the present invention is a recovery operation support method for a printing apparatus, which displays on a monitor information for supporting a recovery operation for solving a problem of a printing result by the printing apparatus. Then, (a) an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device,
The step of displaying on the monitor, and (b) when the displayed sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image And a command to start a recovery operation for resolving the defect in the printing result is given to the printing apparatus or a printing apparatus drive control unit that controls the driving of the printing apparatus. Use as a summary.

As described above, in the recovery operation support apparatus for the first printing apparatus and the method thereof, an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing apparatus is used as a sample image and is monitored. After that, when the displayed sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or when the specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is given, A printing device drive control means for controlling the driving of the printing device or the printing device is instructed to start a recovery operation for eliminating a defect in the printing result.

The starting means to be displayed may be, for example, a starting button, an icon, a character string or a figure. In addition, specific instructions include, for example, entering a specific command or a specific character or symbol, pressing a specific key on the keyboard (for example, the return key), or clicking the mouse. It is also included. If voice input is possible, a specific voice may be input.

Further, the recovery operation for eliminating the defect in the print result includes an operation for directly eliminating the defect and an operation (for example, check pattern printing) performed for the purpose of eliminating the defect. .

Therefore, according to the present invention, the user compares the actual printing result of the printing device with the sample image displayed on the monitor, and the actual printing result is similar to the most defective situation. By simply selecting a sample image, the corresponding startup method, or inputting a specific instruction, the recovery operation to resolve the problem is automatically started, improving the workability of the user. , It is possible to improve the usability by the user.

In the recovery operation support device for a first printing device of the present invention, an original image display means for displaying the original image on the monitor, and an instruction for printing the displayed original image by the input device. An original image print command means for instructing the printing device drive control means to start printing of the original image by the printing device,
May be further provided.

By adopting such a configuration, the user can easily obtain the actual print result of the original image to be compared with the sample image by simply inputting an instruction to print.

A second recovery operation support device for a printing apparatus according to the present invention is connected to the printing apparatus and includes a monitor, an input device and a communication device to eliminate a problem in the printing result by the printing device. A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which displays information for supporting the recovery operation of the printer on the monitor according to an instruction input from the input device, and a printing device drive control means for controlling the drive of the printing device. An example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device is displayed as a sample image by the print result image display means for displaying on the monitor and the input device. When the sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or set corresponding to the sample image. If a particular instruction has is input,
Information collecting means for collecting predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the trouble of the printing result from the printing device or the printing device drive control means, and information for transmitting the collected information to the outside through the communication device A transmission means is provided.

A second recovery operation support method of the present invention is a recovery operation support method for a printing apparatus, which displays on a monitor information for supporting a recovery operation for resolving a defect in a printing result by the printing apparatus. Then, (a) an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device,
The step of displaying on the monitor, and (b) when the displayed sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image (C) collecting predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the defect in the printing result from the printing apparatus or printing apparatus drive control means for controlling the driving of the printing apparatus, )
And transmitting the collected information via a communication device.

As described above, in the recovery operation support device for the second printing device and the method thereof, an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device is used as the sample image. After displaying on the monitor,
When the displayed sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is given, the printing device or the printing thereof Collecting predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the trouble of the printing result from the printing device drive control means for controlling the drive of the device,
The information is transmitted via the communication device.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the user compares the actual print result by the printing device with the sample image displayed on the monitor, and the defect of the actual print result is most similar to the condition of the defect. Simply by selecting a sample image, the corresponding activation method, or inputting a specific instruction, the information necessary to understand the cause of the defect is automatically collected, and the support center is accessed via the communication device. Since it can be transmitted to the user, the user can be freed from troublesome work such as contacting the support center, and the usability for the user can be improved.

A first recording medium of the present invention is a recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is connected to the printing device and includes a computer, a monitor and an input device,
A computer readable recording program and / or data for displaying information for supporting a recovery operation for solving a problem of a printing result by the printing device on the monitor according to an instruction input from the input device An example of a print result defect that may occur when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device, which is a recording medium, is displayed by the input device and the function of displaying the sample image on the monitor. When the sample image or the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is input, the printing device or the printing device A recovery device for controlling the printing device drive control means for controlling the drive of the device, so as to eliminate the problem of the printing result. And summarized in that for recording a program and / or data for realizing the function of commanding the start of the re-operation, to the computer.

As recording media, flexible disks, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, IC cards,
Various computer-readable media such as a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter on which codes such as a bar code are printed, an internal storage device (memory such as RAM and ROM) of the computer, and an external storage device can be used. As data, for example, HTML (Hyper
Text Markup Language) data can be used.

When the program and / or data recorded on such a first recording medium is used by a computer, almost the same processing as that of the recovery operation support apparatus for the first printing apparatus and the method thereof is performed. The same effects as those of the devices and methods can be obtained.

A second recording medium of the present invention is a recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is connected to the printing device and includes a computer, a monitor, an input device, and a communication device, and a printing result by the printing device. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded therein a program and / or data for displaying information for supporting a recovery operation for solving the above problem on the monitor according to an instruction input from the input device. , A function of displaying an example of a print result defect that can be expected when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device on the monitor as a sample image, and the sample image displayed by the input device or the sample image When the activation means displayed corresponding to the sample image is selected, or in the sample image In response to input of a specific instruction set accordingly, the communication is performed by collecting predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the defect in the print result from the printing apparatus or the printing apparatus drive control means. The gist is that a program and / or data for causing a computer to realize the function of instructing the start of the collection of the predetermined information to be transmitted to the outside via the device is recorded.

When the program and / or data recorded on such a second recording medium is used by the computer, almost the same processing as the above-mentioned second recovery operation support apparatus for printing apparatus and its method is performed. The same effects as those of the devices and methods can be obtained.

[0023]

Other Embodiments of the Invention The present invention also includes the following other embodiments. That is, as one aspect, it is an aspect as a supply device that supplies a program or data for causing a computer to realize the functions of the respective means or steps of the above-described invention through a communication path. In such an aspect, the program and data are placed on a server on the network,
The above-described recovery operation support device for a printing apparatus and recovery operation support method can be realized by downloading necessary programs and data to a computer via a communication path and using them.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A. First Embodiment of the Present Invention Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recovery operation support device for a printer as a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recovery operation support device 10 for a printer of this embodiment comprises a mouse 12, a keyboard 13, a CD-ROM drive 14, and a hard disk 1.
6, a computer 90 including a modem 18 and a CRT 21 as peripheral devices, and is connected to a color printer 20 which is a printing device.

The computer 90 includes a CPU 81 for executing various arithmetic processes, and the following respective units interconnected by a bus 80.

The ROM 82 is a memory in which programs and data necessary for the CPU 81 to execute various arithmetic processes are stored in advance, and the RAM 83 is also the CPU 81.
Is a memory for temporarily storing various programs and data necessary for executing various arithmetic processes.

The input interface 84 controls the input of signals from the mouse 12 and the keyboard 13, and the output interface 85 controls the output of data to the color printer 20. A CRT controller (CRTC) 86 controls signal output to the CRT 21 capable of color display, and a disk controller (DDC) 87 controls data output between the hard disk 16 and the CD-ROM drive 14 or a flexible drive (not shown). Control transfer.

The hard disk 16 stores various programs loaded in the RAM 83 and executed, various programs provided in the device driver format and the module format, and necessary data. Also, C
The D-ROM 15 and flexible disk (not shown) also store various programs and necessary data similar to those described above, and these various programs and data are transmitted via the CD-ROM drive 14 or flexible drive. Then, the computer 90 can execute the program by loading it from the CD-ROM 15 or the flexible disk.

A serial input / output interface (SIO) 88 is also connected to the bus 80.
The SIO 88 is connected to the modem 18, and is connected to the public telephone line PTL via the modem 18. The computer 90 is connected to an external network NW via this public telephone line PTL, and can access a specific server SV to download necessary programs and data to the hard disk 16.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of the color printer 20 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
The color printer 20 includes a control circuit 40 that controls signals exchange with each unit, and six ink ejection heads 61 to 66.
, A control panel 32 for giving instructions to the color printer 20 by the user, a paper feed motor 22 for conveying a sheet (not shown), and a carriage (for mounting the print head 28). And a carriage motor 24 for reciprocating (not shown).

Of these, the control circuit 40 is a well-known CPU.
41, P- that stores programs such as firmware
It is configured as an arithmetic and logic operation circuit centering on a ROM 43, a RAM 44, a character generator (CG) 45 that stores a character dot matrix, and the like, and an I / F dedicated to interface with an external motor or the like. A circuit 50, a head drive circuit 52 which is connected to the I / F dedicated circuit 50 and drives the print head 28, and a motor drive circuit 54 which similarly drives the paper feed motor 22 and the carriage motor 24 are provided. Further, the I / F dedicated circuit 50 has a built-in parallel interface circuit, is connected to the computer 90 via the connector 56, and can receive a printing signal or the like output from the computer 90.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing each processing means realized by various programs in the computer 90 and the color printer 20 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, among various programs, the browser software 110 is executed by the CPU 81 in the computer 90 shown in FIG. 1, so that the original image display means 112 and the original image print instruction means 11 are executed.
4. It functions as the print result image display means 116 and the trouble resolution command means 118. Also, the instruction conversion module 1
20 is executed by the CPU 81,
The printer driver 1 functions as the instruction conversion unit 122.
30 also functions as printer drive control means 132. Note that the printer driver 130 also includes various utility software for printers. On the other hand, when the firmware 140 is executed by the CPU 41 in the color printer 20 shown in FIG.
It functions as the control means 142.

Various programs such as the browser software 110, the instruction conversion module 120, and the printer driver 130 in the computer 90 may be stored in the hard disk 16 shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be loaded from a flexible disk. Further, the firmware 140 in the color printer 20 is the P-RO shown in FIG.
It is stored in advance in M43.

On the other hand, in FIG. 3, the troubleshooting data is information for supporting the recovery operation by the user in order to eliminate the trouble (trouble) of the printing result by the color printer 20, and is provided as electronic information. It Specifically, the troubleshooting data is HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) data, GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), JPEG.
(Joint Photogrphic Expert Group) format image data. The troubleshooting data may also be stored in the hard disk 16, but may be loaded from the CD-ROM 15 or the flexible disk.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the printer recovery operation support device 10 of this embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Browser software 110
Reads troubleshooting data, analyzes HTML data in the troubleshooting data, and displays troubleshooting-related information on the screen of the CRT 21. At this time, when a predetermined instruction is input from the mouse 12 or the keyboard 13, the original image display means 112 of the browser software 110 causes the original image data to be the target of the trial printing to be selected from the image data in the troubleshooting data. Read the CRT2
No. 1 is displayed on the screen (step S10).

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an original image is displayed on the screen of the CRT 21 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, (a) shows an example of the screen 500 on which the original image 506 is displayed, and (b) shows an enlarged part of the original image 506 in (a). In the case of this example, the original image 506 is composed of an image of an English character font as shown in FIG. In the display screen 500, an area 502 is an area where a command menu (not shown) and various icons (not shown) are displayed by the browser software 110, and an area 504 is the browser software 1
This is an area in which information related to troubleshooting is actually displayed by 10.

In this way, when the original image 506 to be the test print is displayed on the screen 500 of the CRT 21, the user determines whether or not to perform the test print, and in the case of the test print, Check box 50 displayed in area 504 by using the mouse 12 or the keyboard 13.
After putting a check mark on 8, a print command is selected from the command menu displayed in the area 502 to instruct the browser software 110 to start printing the original image.

Thus, the mouse 12 or the keyboard 1
When an instruction to start printing the original image is input from 3, the original image print instruction unit 114 of the browser software 110 receives the instruction and issues an instruction to start printing the original image (step S12). The command conversion unit 122 of the command conversion module 120 converts the issued original image print start command into a command interpretable by the printer driver 130. When the converted original image print start command is input, the printer drive control unit 132 of the printer driver 130 performs well-known image processing necessary for printing on the above-mentioned original image data, The control signal necessary for driving the color printer 20 is output together with the output to the color printer 20. As a result, in the color printer 20,
The control unit 142 in the firmware 140 drives the head drive circuit 52 and the motor drive circuit 54 based on the input control signal and the data of the original image to print the original image.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the original image is printed on the printing paper by the color printer 20 of FIG. In this way, the original image 506 displayed on the screen 500 of the CRT 21 becomes the printing paper 51 as shown in FIG.
0 is printed as a print image 512.

When the printing of the original image is completed, the print result image display means 116 of the browser software 110 reads the sample image data from the image data in the troubleshooting data and displays it on the screen of the CRT 21 ( Step S14). As the sample images, examples of print result defects that can be assumed in advance when the original image is printed by the color printer 20 are displayed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which four sample images are displayed on the screen of the CRT 21 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as an example of a print result defect that can be assumed in advance, "ruled lines are cut, misaligned, or not printed", "printing is uneven, light or dark", "printing is messy, dirty, or bleeding" 4 types of defects such as "," and "becomes like a defocused photo"
One sample image 520 to 523 shows an example of the print result when each defect occurs. In addition, below each of the sample images 520 to 523, the status of the above-described defect of the corresponding sample image is displayed as a character string 524.
~ 527.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a part of the four sample images in FIG. 7 in which a defect "ruled lines are cut, misaligned, or not printed" has occurred. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, as the sample image 520, an image in which the English character font shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the user sees the print image (that is, the actual print result of the original image) printed on the print paper by the color printer 20 and finds that the print result is defective. Check if there is (step S16),
If there is no problem, the user inputs an end instruction using the mouse 12 or the keyboard 13. This completes the series of processes.

However, if there is a problem, the user compares the print image printed on the printing paper with the four sample images displayed on the screen of the CRT 21 and compares the four sample images. From among the sample images, select the sample image that most closely resembles the defect in the print image (actual print result), and select the sample image or the character string described below the sample image from the mouse 12 or keyboard. Select by 13.

As described above, the browser software 1
Reference numeral 10 displays information about troubleshooting based on the HTML data in the troubleshooting data. According to this HTML data, it is possible to link each display screen (that is, each page), and by following the link, one display screen (page) jumps to another display screen (page). Will be able to. In the present embodiment, in the display screen shown in FIG. 7, four sample images 520 to 523 and four character strings 524 to 527 described below are provided with links, and each sample image is displayed. You can jump to the display screen (page) that describes the recovery method corresponding to the situation of the problem in.

Therefore, in FIG. 7, for example, when the user selects the sample image 520 as the sample image whose defect situation is most similar to that of the print image and selects the sample image 520 with the mouse 12,
Print result image display means 1 of browser software 110
16 is a display screen on which the HTML data is analyzed based on the selection instruction input from the mouse 12 and the recovery method corresponding to the failure situation of the sample image 520 is described according to the link provided in the sample image 520. Is displayed on the CRT 21, a sample image 520 is displayed.
Immediately after selecting, the sample image 5
You can jump to the recovery method description screen corresponding to 20.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a recovery method description screen displayed when the sample image 520 in FIG. 7 is selected, and FIG. 10 shows all contents described in the recovery method description screen in FIG. FIG.

When the recovery method description screens shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are displayed, the user sequentially confirms according to the "confirmation items" and "check points" described in the screens, and The "coping method" described corresponding to the above, that is, the recovery method is executed. As shown in FIG. 10, a check pattern print start button 601, a cleaning start button 602, and a gap adjustment start button 603 are formed in the “Countermeasure” column. Then, these buttons 601 to 603 respectively have
A link is provided so that the start of the recovery operation corresponding to each button is instructed by selecting the button with the mouse 12 or the keyboard 13.

Therefore, in FIG. 10, for example, when the user selects the cleaning of the print head as the recovery method and selects the cleaning start button 602 with the mouse 12 in order to execute the cleaning, the trouble solving instruction means of the browser software 110 is executed. 118, based on the selection instruction input from the mouse 12,
The ML data is analyzed, and a cleaning operation start command is issued according to the link provided on the cleaning start button 602 (step S18). Instruction conversion module 12
The 0 command conversion unit 122 converts the issued cleaning operation start command into a command interpretable by the printer driver 130. The converted start command is sent via the printer drive control means 132 of the printer driver 130.
It is transmitted to the control means 142 in the firmware 140 of the color printer 20 and thereby the control means 1
42 controls the head drive circuit 52 and the motor drive circuit 54, respectively, and executes cleaning for the ink ejection heads 61 to 66 in the print head 28 (step S20).

When the cleaning operation which is the recovery processing (step S20) is completed as described above, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Then, the process returns to 10), and the subsequent processing is performed. That is, the user is made to print the original image again, and in step S16, the user is made to confirm whether or not the problem that occurred in the print result has been resolved. Then, when the defect is resolved, the process is terminated as it is, but when the defect is not yet resolved, the defect resolution command process (step S1
The process proceeds to step 8), the processes after that are performed again, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

In the above description, the recovery operation when the cleaning start button 602 is selected has been described with reference to FIG. 10. However, when another start button is selected, the recovery operation is as follows. The action is executed. That is, the check pattern print start button 6
When 01 is selected, the printer drive control unit 132 of the printer driver 130 and the control unit 142 of the firmware 140 check whether or not the ink ejection heads 61 to 66 of the print head 28 are clogged. Printing of the clogging check pattern is started in the color printer 20. When the gap adjustment start button 603 is selected, the printer drive control unit 132 and the control unit 142 start adjusting the gap between the ink ejection heads 61 to 66 and the printing paper. Further, although not shown in FIG. 10, there is a paper type setting change start button and the like, and when this button is selected, the printing paper set in the printer drive control means in the printer driver 130 is set. The type of is changed to another appropriate type.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
On the recovery method description screen corresponding to each sample image, when the user selects the desired recovery operation start button with the mouse 12 or the like, the recovery operation is automatically started, and the print result corresponding to the sample image is displayed. Since the above problem can be solved, the work efficiency of the user can be improved and the usability for the user can be improved.

B. Second Embodiment of the Present Invention Next, a recovery operation support device for a printer as a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 11 shows a computer 9 in a recovery operation support device for a printer as a second embodiment of the present invention.
0 is a block diagram showing each processing unit realized by various programs in the color printer 20 and the color printer 20.

As shown in FIG. 11, among various programs, the browser software 210 is the computer 90.
By being executed by the CPU 81 therein, it functions as the original image display means 212, the original image print instruction means 214, the print result image display means 216, and the information collection instruction means 219. Further, the instruction conversion module 220 includes the CPU 8
1 is executed by the instruction conversion means 22.
The printer driver 230 functions as the printer drive control unit 232. Note that the printer driver 130 also includes various utility software for printers. Further, the information collecting module 240 functions as the information collecting unit 242 and the electronic mail software 250 functions as the information transmitting unit 252 when it is executed by the CPU 81.

Various programs such as the browser software 210, the instruction conversion module 220, the printer driver 130, the information collection module 240, and the electronic mail software 250 in the computer 90 may be stored in the hard disk 16 or the CD- RO
You may make it load from M15 or a flexible disk.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure in the printer recovery operation support apparatus of this embodiment.

The processing operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In addition, in the present embodiment, the processing operation from step S30 to step S36 is performed in step S in the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Since it is the same as the processing operation from 10 to step S16, its description is omitted.

In step S16, if the print result is defective, the user prints the print image printed on the printing paper and the four samples shown in FIG. 7 displayed on the screen of the CRT 21. Images 520 to 523 are compared with each other, and from the four sample images, a sample image having the most similar situation to the defect of the print image (actual print result) is selected, and the sample image or the sample image thereof is selected. The character string written under
Alternatively, it is selected by the keyboard 13.

In this embodiment, the portions of the four sample images 520 to 523 and the four character strings 524 to 527 described below are selected by the mouse 12 and the keyboard 13, respectively. Therefore, a link is provided so that the collection start of the information necessary for grasping the cause of the failure corresponding to each of them can be instructed.

Therefore, in FIG. 7, for example, the user selects a sample image 523 in which a defect "becomes like an out-of-focus photograph" has occurred as a sample image in which the condition of the defect is most similar to that of the print image. , When the sample image 523 is selected by the mouse 12, the information collection command means 2 of the browser software 210
19 analyzes the HTML data based on the selection instruction inputted from the mouse 12, and issues a command to start collecting information necessary for grasping the cause of the above-mentioned trouble according to the link provided in the sample image 523. (Step S
38). Command conversion means 22 of command conversion module 220
2 converts the issued information collection command into an interpretable command of the information collection module 240.

When the information collecting means 242 of the information collecting module 240 receives the converted start command, it causes the printer drive control means 232 of the printer driver 230 to cause a trouble of "becomes like a defocused photograph". Request to transfer certain information needed to know. In response to the request, the printer drive control unit 132 causes the information collection unit 242 to provide corresponding information among the preset printer setting information, such as print paper type setting information and printer driver version information. Forward. Further, the printer drive control unit 132 requests the control unit 142 in the firmware 140 of the color printer 20 to provide information as necessary, and prints the corresponding information, for example, the ink ejection heads 61 to 66. Receive information such as the gap length between the paper and firmware version information,
It is transferred to the information collecting means 242.

The information collecting means 242 arranges the collected information so that it can be sent by electronic mail, and passes it to the information transmitting means 252 of the electronic mail software 250 together with the information of the mail address of the support center. The information transmitting means 252 transmits the received collected information by e-mail to the e-mail address of the support center (step S40). Thus, the electronic mail sent by the information transmission means 252 is delivered to the mail server (not shown) of the support center via the modem 18, the public telephone line PTL, the network NW and the like.

At the support center, based on the collected information sent from the user by e-mail, the cause of the defect in the print result is investigated, and the recovery method for solving the defect is e-mailed to the user. Tell. In particular, by obtaining the version information of the printer driver or the firmware as the collected information, it is possible to grasp the trouble that is peculiar to a certain version. Moreover, in that case, if a new version of the printer driver in which the problem is solved is being developed, the printer driver of the version may be attached to an e-mail or the like and sent to the user. Good.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, on the screen displaying each sample image, the user can select the sample image itself or the sample image below which the situation of the defect is most similar to the defect of the print image (actual print result). By selecting the character string of with the mouse 12 or the like, the information necessary for grasping the cause of the problem is automatically collected and sent to the support center by e-mail. This frees you from the hassle of contacting the support center and improves the usability for users.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be carried out in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the color printer is taken as an example of the printing apparatus, but the present invention is
The printer is not limited to the color printer, and may be a monochrome printer. Further, not only a personal printer but also a large printer for business use may be used.

The present invention is not limited to a printer, but may be, for example, a copying machine or a facsimile machine,
Alternatively, it can be applied to various printing devices such as a printer, a copy machine, and a multifunction machine of a facsimile.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printer which is the printing device, the computer which is the recovery operation support device, and the various peripheral devices are configured as separate devices, respectively, but they are configured integrally. May be.

In the above-described embodiments, the image of the English character font is taken as an example of the original image, but it may be a photographic image or a graphic or pattern image.

Further, in the second embodiment described above,
Although e-mail is used as the means for transmitting the collected information, the present invention is not limited to this, and the collected information may be transmitted by facsimile. If the computer has a voice synthesizing function, the collected information may be transmitted by telephone. Also, the transmission form is not limited to wired transmission using a public telephone line or the like, and may be wireless transmission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recovery operation support device for a printer as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a color printer 20 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a computer 90 and a color printer 2 shown in FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing each processing unit realized by various programs in 0. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the printer recovery operation support device 10 of the first embodiment.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an original image is displayed on the screen of the CRT 21 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an original image is printed on a print sheet by the color printer 20 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which four sample images are displayed on the screen of the CRT 21 in FIG.

8 is an enlarged view showing an enlarged part of a sample image 520 out of the four sample images in FIG. 7 in which a defect such as “a ruled line is cut, misaligned, or not printed” has occurred.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing a recovery method description screen displayed when the sample image 520 in FIG. 7 is selected.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing all the contents described on the recovery method description screen in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing each processing unit realized by various programs in the computer 90 and the color printer 20 in the printer recovery operation support device as the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the recovery operation support device for printer of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Recovery operation support device for printer 12 ... Mouse 13 ... Keyboard 14 ... CD-ROM drive 15 ... CD-ROM 16 ... Hard disk 18 ... Modem 20 ... Color printer 21 ... CRT 22 ... Paper feed motor 24 ... Carriage motor 28 ... Print head 32 ... Operation panel 40 ... Control circuit 41 ... CPU 43 ... ROM 44 ... RAM 50 ... I / F dedicated circuit 52 ... Head drive circuit 54 ... Motor drive circuit 56 ... Connector 61 to 66 ... Ink ejection head 80 ... Bus 81 ... CPU 82 ... ROM 83 ... RAM 84 ... Input interface 85 ... Output interface 88 ... SIO 90 ... Computer 110 ... Browser software 112 ... Original image display means 114 ... Original image print command means 116 ... Print result image display means 118 ... Defect solving instruction means 120 ... Command conversion module 122 ... Command conversion means 130 ... Printer driver 132 ... Printer drive control means 140 ... Firmware 142 ... Control means 210 ... Browser software 212 ... Original image display means 214 ... Original image print command means 216 ... Print result image display means 219 ... Information gathering instruction means 220 ... Instruction conversion module 222 ... Command conversion means 230 ... Printer driver 232 ... Printer drive control means 240 ... Information collection module 242 ... Information collecting means 250 ... Email software 252 ... Information transmission means 412 ... Printed image 500 ... Display screen 502, 504 ... area 506 ... Original image 508 ... Check box 510 ... Printing paper 520-523 ... sample image 524 to 527 ... Character string 601 ... Check pattern print start button 602 ... Cleaning start button 603 ... Gap adjustment start button NW ... Network PTL ... Public telephone line SV ... server

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-4-314573 (JP, A) JP-A-3-30661 (JP, A) JP-A-8-289143 (JP, A) JP-A-8-58158 (JP , A) JP-A-6-208465 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/38 B41J 29/46

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device, which is connected to a printing device, is provided with a monitor and an input device, and inputs information for supporting a recovery operation for eliminating a problem of a printing result by the printing device from the input device. A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is displayed on the monitor in accordance with an instruction, and is assumed when a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device, and a printing device drive control unit that controls driving of the printing device. An example of a print result defect that may be performed is displayed as a sample image on the monitor, and a print result image display unit is displayed by the input device, or a startup unit is displayed corresponding to the sample image. Is selected, or when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is input, the printing device or the A recovery operation support device for a printing device, comprising: a failure resolution commanding device for instructing a printing device drive control device to start a recovery operation for solving the problem of the printing result. 2. The recovery operation support device for a printing device according to claim 1, wherein the original image is displayed on the monitor, and the input device prints the displayed original image. The recovery operation support device for a printing device, further comprising: an original image print command device for instructing the printing device drive control device to start the printing of the original image by the printing device. 3. The information, which is connected to a printing device and includes a monitor, an input device, and a communication device, for inputting information for supporting a recovery operation for eliminating a defect in a printing result by the printing device, A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is displayed on the monitor according to an instruction input from the device, and a printing device drive control unit that controls driving of the printing device, and a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device. An example of a print result defect that can be assumed at this time is displayed as a sample image by the print result image display means displayed on the monitor, and the sample image displayed by the input device or displayed in association with the sample image. The printing device is selected when a start-up unit is selected or when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is input. Alternatively, an information collecting unit that collects predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the trouble of the printing result from the printing device drive control unit, and an information transmitting unit that transmits the collected information to the outside through the communication device. A recovery operation support device for a printing device, comprising: 4. A recovery operation support method for displaying on a monitor information for supporting a recovery operation for eliminating a problem of a printing result by a printing device, comprising: (a) a predetermined original image being printed by the printing device. An example of a print result defect that can be expected when printing is performed is displayed on the monitor as a sample image, and (b) the displayed sample image or a start-up unit displayed corresponding to the sample image is provided. If selected,
Alternatively, when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is issued, the printing apparatus or a printing apparatus drive control unit that controls the driving of the printing apparatus is provided to eliminate the problem of the printing result. A recovery operation support method comprising the step of instructing the start of recovery operation. 5. A recovery operation support method for displaying on a monitor information for supporting a recovery operation for eliminating a defect in a printing result of a printing device, comprising: (a) a predetermined original image being printed by the printing device. An example of a print result defect that can be expected when printing is performed is displayed on the monitor as a sample image, and (b) the displayed sample image or a start-up unit displayed corresponding to the sample image is provided. If selected,
Alternatively, when a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is given, the cause of the defect in the print result is grasped from the printing device or a printing device drive control means for controlling the driving of the printing device. A recovery operation support method comprising: a step of collecting predetermined information necessary for the above; and (c) transmitting the collected information via a communication device. 6. A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is connected to the printing device and includes a computer, a monitor, and an input device, and supports a recovery operation for eliminating a defect in a print result by the printing device. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program and / or data for displaying information for performing on a monitor according to an instruction input from the input device is recorded, and a predetermined original image is printed by the printing device. A function of displaying an example of a print result defect that may be expected when the sample image is displayed on the monitor as a sample image, and the sample device displayed by the input device or a start-up unit displayed corresponding to the sample image. Is selected, or a specific instruction set corresponding to the sample image is input And a function of instructing the printing device drive control means for controlling the driving of the printing device to start the recovery operation for eliminating the trouble of the printing result, A recording medium on which a program and / or data for recording is recorded. 7. A recovery operation support device for a printing device, which is connected to the printing device and includes a computer, a monitor, an input device, and a communication device, for recovering a defect in a printing result of the printing device. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program and / or data for displaying information for supporting an operation on the monitor according to an instruction input from the input device is recorded, and a predetermined original image is printed on the recording medium. An example of a print result defect that can be expected when printed by the device is displayed as a sample image on the monitor, and the sample image displayed by the input device or displayed in association with the sample image is displayed. When the activation means is selected, or the specific image that is set corresponding to the sample image When a display is input, predetermined information necessary for grasping the cause of the defect of the print result is collected from the printing device or the printing device drive control means and transmitted to the outside through the communication device. To this end, a recording medium having a program and / or data for causing a computer to realize the function of instructing the start of collection of the predetermined information.