ABSTRACT

Most often, the printing of very important and computer reports have been stopped midway owing to some minor faults on the computer/printer system.  At times, due to the complexity of the faults some maintenance find it difficult beginning to perform detailed diagnosis due to lack of specialized equipment, some of which are available only to a few big firms due to their high cost of acquisition.
As the case may be, some of those faults may be such that will require a very fundamental knowledge of printer maintenance, making use of minor tools.  Once the actual causes are identified.
This project “EPERT SYSTEM ON TROUBLE – SHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE OF EPSON PRINTER” shooting and maintenance information for non-computer/printer engineers.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The impact of engineering age is tremendous and its arrears of application are increasing geometrically.  It is believed that the information revolution will radically change the nature and quality of engineering work in the near future.
Some of the most exiting arrear of the information technology includes.

Due to all these mentioned arrears of computer application and more, computer has now been accepted and used by so many organizations, by individuals for various purposes.  It is believed that computer is an agent, which improves productivity, enhances competition.
It is however worthy to not that 75% of all computer application generate documented information.  This is why it is said that had copy is the spice of information.
Computer generates printed report for adequate circulation and communication.  This underlines the importance of printers in computerized operations and environments.
Considering the increasing number of which malfunction ‘vis a vis’ while the scanty availability of maintenance experts, these is no doubt that may important and urgent reports are either frustrated permanent or produced too late to serve their purpose.  It therefore become very imperative to develop this EPSON printer troubleshooting and maintenance expert system which will guide a non-expert through step by step approach to troubleshoot and maintain his EPSON printer.

When printers malfunction, it is often difficult tracing the causes of such malfunctions with respect to identified symptoms.  Often, some of these faults are so minor that virtually every user is supposed to be able to handle them effectively without having to undergo the rigours of finding maintenance experts.  In many occasions, the defects are perfectly eliminated by clearing the edge connectors and resisting the plugs and printer interface cards.  Some diagnostic software such as Qapuls could also help in locating the causes of the problem.
However, the need for a reliable maintenance service cannot be over emphasized.
Since it is necessary for effective performance of any printer.  Also it is pertinent to observe that there are many other preventive maintenance procedures that can be duly appreciate by the user which could minimize printer failure.  This project has been designed and preventive maintenance in a “DO IT YOURSELF FASHION.  It as well provides most of the salient information necessary to troubleshoot Epson printers.

The purpose of this project or study is to give expert knowledge or guide on the rectification of several known faults commonly developed by Epson printer and then develop an expert software system which will give any user the expertise knowledge to rectify the problem of his/her Epson printer.
This project will, therefore, briefly, look at the superficial culture of maintaining and trouble shooting printers with a view providing a number of analytical diagnostic steps that an operator could easily implement to enable him/her forge ahead when his/her printer suddenly develops a fault in the make of a printer job.

The aims and objectives of this project are:-
To assemble a knowledge base that is common to the trouble shooting and maintenance Epson printers of diverse models.  To prevent this knowledge in a diagnostic format such that will enable even non-expert identify and rectify minor problems of the printers especially.  When the maintenance experts are not handy.  To provide a printer maintenance teaching aid on the basis of DO IT YOURSELF.  To emphasize the concept of preventive maintenance, especially as it effects fragile electronic of the ink of computer and printers.

Even though there are several types – laser, dot – matrix, inkjet – and makes of printer Epson, OK1, NEC, CITIZEN, IBM, STAR, PANASONIC, etc,. for the purpose of this project, it has been designed to focus on the most commonly found (the Epson dot – matrix printer).  This option was chosen with the respect to the fact that this could be regarded as the (economy class) hence need as much guide as possible both in preventive and guide as possible both in preventive and corrective maintenance.
It is worth being mentioned that the project has been designed and mainly flow on the Epson and similar.  The area of coverage is not very wide, however, since volume of books and journals are regularly on the issue.  Hence this work shall not attempt to be exhaustive.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Artificial intelligence result when machines are made to thick.  Artificial intelligence is a general term, which expert systems and robotics lie.  The expert system technology has been necessitated by the fact that some human domain experts delay some wonderful skill, which is lost whenever they die thereby leaving the future generation with little or nothing to inherit from their wonderful skill.  Hence they need the expert knowledge of a human being in a domain of activity to be stored in the computer such that computer mimic the reasoning of the expert in some way reaching the same decisions or conclusion as the expert himself and effectively replacing him.
Because of the reposition of an expert knowledge in the computer memory to enable it think like the expert.