JP2006060591A - Recording apparatus and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording apparatus and a communication method for omitting useless communication intended to the communication other party requesting unacceptable service by using infrared communication, suppressing electric power then generated and further causing no unexpected operation and no error condition in an apparatus of the communication other party, thus enabling highly reliable communication. <P>SOLUTION: At the first reception of information that comes from a host and is in accordance with a predetermined infrared communication protocol, a type of the host is discriminated. Then, at the second reception of information that comes from the host and is in accordance with a predetermined infrared communication protocol according to the result discriminated, it is determined whether responding to the host or not, and a response is made to the host in accordance with the determined result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a communication method, and in particular, includes a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink by, for example, an ink jet method, and a recording apparatus that can communicate with an external apparatus by, for example, infrared communication and It relates to a communication method.

  Conventionally, infrared communication that performs communication between devices using infrared rays is known. There are various types of infrared communication, but an infrared data communication standard is generally known which is defined by an industry group known as IrDA (Infrared Data Association) for interconnection and spread of infrared data communication. .

  In this communication standard, if the distance to the communication partner is about 1 m, it is possible to communicate without connecting with a cable or the like, so that it is easy to use and can be realized with a simple configuration compared to communication using radio waves. There is also an advantage that high security can be ensured because the communication distance is short, and it is currently applied to various devices such as laptop computers and small devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and is widely used. Yes.

Further, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration of an inkjet printer that includes such an infrared communication interface and can receive data by wireless communication.
JP 2001-75765 A

  In IrDA, several service (application) protocols exist in order to spread infrared communication for various purposes. For this reason, when there is a communication request by an unsupported service, a method of not permitting a communication connection according to the protocol is taken.

  However, with the spread to small devices and the like, when a communication operation for rejecting an unsupported communication request occurs, in the end, infrared light emission occurs, which consumes power, and the battery There has been a problem that driving portable small-sized devices have a large load in terms of power consumption.

  In addition, if a communication request is rejected due to connection denial, it is unexpected for the communication device that requested the communication. If this causes a malfunction, an error status is displayed on the display of the communication device. It may be done.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, omits useless communication with a communication partner that makes an unsupported service request by infrared communication, suppresses power consumption that occurs, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus and a communication method capable of performing highly reliable communication without inducing an unexpected operation or causing an error state in a device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, a recording apparatus for receiving and recording data from a host, comprising: infrared communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from the host according to a predetermined infrared communication protocol; and a first time from the host via the infrared communication means. When receiving the information, the determination means for determining the type of the host, and when receiving the second information from the host via the infrared communication means, the determination means sends a response to the host according to the determination result. The recording apparatus includes: a determination unit that determines whether to perform the response; and a response unit that performs a response to the host according to a determination result by the determination unit.

  The host includes a mobile phone, an information portable terminal, a laptop computer, and a desktop computer having an infrared communication interface.

  Further, it is preferable that the determination by the determination unit is made according to whether or not a service can be provided to the type of host determined by the determination unit.

  Furthermore, it is desirable to have power supply means for both AC drive and DC drive.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication method for performing data communication according to a predetermined infrared communication protocol, wherein the type of the host is set at the time of first information reception from the host according to the predetermined infrared communication protocol. A determination step of determining, and a determination step of determining whether or not to respond to the host according to a determination result in the determination step at the time of second information reception from the host according to the predetermined infrared communication protocol; And a response step of responding to the host according to the determination result in the determination step.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, according to the type of the host of the infrared communication partner determined at the time of the first information reception, it is determined whether or not to respond to the host at the time of the second information reception from the host. For example, for a host that cannot provide a service, useless communication due to connection confirmation can be omitted, power consumption associated with the communication can be suppressed, and connection to a host that cannot provide a service is impossible. There is an effect that it is possible to suppress the induction of unexpected movements.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this specification, “recording” (sometimes referred to as “printing”) is not only for forming significant information such as characters and figures, but also for human beings visually perceived regardless of significance. Regardless of whether or not it has been manifested, it also represents a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is widely formed on a recording medium or the medium is processed.

  “Recording medium” refers not only to paper used in general recording apparatuses but also widely to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. Shall.

  Furthermore, “ink” (sometimes referred to as “liquid”) is to be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of “recording (printing)” above. It represents a liquid that can be used for forming a pattern or the like, processing a recording medium, or processing an ink (for example, solidification or insolubilization of a colorant in ink applied to the recording medium).

  Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the “nozzle” collectively refers to an ejection port or a liquid channel communicating with the ejection port and an element that generates energy used for ink ejection.

<Description of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIGS. 1 to 3)>
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus) that can be driven by both an AC power source and a DC power source according to a typical embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus includes an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) 800, a battery charger 900 with a built-in battery that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the printer 800, and a vertically installed storage with the both attached. The cradle 950 is a cradle. Note that although description will be given by taking paper as an example of a recording medium to be recorded by the printer, the recording medium is not limited to this, and any recordable sheet-like medium may be used.

  In FIG. 1, the external appearance of the printer 800 is an integral shell structure composed of an upper case 801, a lower case 802, a paper feed cover 803, and a paper discharge port cover 804, and is not used as a printer (when stationary, portable) Time) takes this form. Also, on the side surface of the printer 800, an I / F for connecting a DCin jack (DC power supply input jack) 817 for inserting an AC adapter cable (not shown) used when receiving power supply from an AC power supply and a USB cable. An (interface) connector 815 is provided. A paper feed cover 803 serves as a recording sheet supply tray for opening a recording sheet such as paper by being opened with respect to the printer main body during recording.

  Next, the external appearance of the battery charger 900 is composed of a main case 901, a cover case 902, and a battery lid 903. By removing the battery lid 903 and opening the main case 901, the battery pack incorporating the rechargeable battery can be removed. Is possible.

  Further, the mounting surface (connection surface) between the battery charger 900 and the printer 800 has a main body connector 904 for electrical connection and fixing screws 905 and 906 for mechanical attachment and fixing. By connecting to the printer body in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, the printer 800 can be driven by a battery. Further, the top surface of the battery charger 900 has a charging display portion 909 that indicates the state of charge of the battery. On the side surface of the battery charger 900, a CHG-DCin jack 907 into which an AC adapter cable is inserted and a battery charger 900 are attached. Sometimes a blindfold plate 908 is provided to cover the DCin jack 817 of the printer 800.

  The cradle 950 functions as a stand by being inserted in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 with the battery charger 900 attached to the printer 800. Note that the cradle 950 is provided with an opening 956 so that charging can be performed by inserting an AC adapter cable into the CHG-DCin jack 907 even when the printer 800 and the battery charger 900 are attached.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the state in which the battery charger 900 is mounted on the printer 800 as viewed from the upper side of the printer on the back side and the top side of the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 2, by attaching a battery charger 900 to the back of the printer 800 and fixing it with fixing screws 905 and 906, the printer 800 becomes a battery-driven printer.

  Further, as described above, the DCin jack 817 of the printer 800 is covered by the blindfold plate 908 provided in the battery charger 900. For this reason, when the user installs the battery charger 900, the AC adapter cable is definitely inserted into the CHG-DCin jack 907 side of the battery charger 900, so that erroneous insertion can be prevented.

  On the back surface of the battery charger 900, four legs 901a, 901b, 901c, 901d provided on the main case 901 are provided. In addition, contact portions 910a, 910b, and 910c for making electrical contact when attached to the cradle 950 are provided on the rear surface.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging display unit 909 of the battery charger 900 is visible even when the printer 800 is mounted and the top surface is easy to see when used for recording and when the paper feed cover 803 is opened. It is arranged at a position where it is not obstructed.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the printer 800.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 105 is mounted on the carriage 104 and can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction along the guide rail 103. The ink ejected from the recording head 105 reaches the recording medium 102 whose recording surface is regulated by a platen (not shown) at a minute distance from the recording head 105, and forms an image thereon.

  A recording signal is supplied to the recording head 105 according to the image data via the flexible cable 119.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 114 denotes a carriage motor for causing the carriage 104 to scan along the guide rail 103. Reference numeral 113 denotes a carriage belt that transmits the driving force of the carriage motor 114 to the carriage 104. A transport motor 118 is coupled to the transport roller 101 to transport the recording medium 102.

  The recording head 105 is combined with the ink tank 105a to constitute a head cartridge. The head cartridge may have a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank can be separated, or an integrated configuration.

  Furthermore, 107 is a pickup roller for picking up the recording medium 102 during paper feeding and introducing it into the apparatus, and 108 is a paper discharging roller for discharging the recording medium 102 out of the apparatus during paper discharge.

  In the recording apparatus of this embodiment, a desired size can be selected from a plurality of sizes of recording paper and used for recording. The size includes business card size, system notebook mini size, system notebook bible size, A5 size, A4 size paper, and the like.

  Most of the above-mentioned mechanical parts are attached to the base chassis 109 of the apparatus.

<Control Configuration of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIG. 4)>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the printer 800 shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 600 includes an MPU 601, a program corresponding to a control sequence to be described later, a required table, a ROM 602 storing other fixed data, control of the carriage motor 114, control of the transport motor 118, and recording. A special purpose integrated circuit (ASIC) 603 that generates a control signal for controlling the head 3, and a RAM 604, an MPU 601, an ASIC 603, and a RAM 604, which are provided with image data development areas and program execution areas A system bus 605 for transferring data, and an A / D converter 606 for inputting analog signals from the sensor group described below, A / D converting them, and supplying digital signals to the MPU 601 and the like.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 610 denotes a desktop computer (or a reader for image reading, a digital camera, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, etc.) that is a supply source of image data, and is collectively referred to as a host device. Is done. Image data, commands, status signals, and the like are transmitted and received between the host device 610 and the recording device via an interface (I / F) 611.

  Further, reference numeral 620 denotes a switch group, which instructs activation of a power switch 621, a print switch 622 for instructing printing start, and a process (recovery process) for maintaining the ink ejection performance of the recording head 105 in a good state. For example, a recovery switch 623 for receiving a command input from the operator. Reference numeral 630 denotes a sensor for detecting an apparatus state including a position sensor 631 such as a photocoupler for detecting a home position, a temperature sensor 632 provided at an appropriate position of the recording apparatus for detecting an environmental temperature, and the like. Is a group.

  Further, reference numeral 640 denotes a carriage motor driver that drives a carriage motor 114 for reciprocating scanning of the carriage 104 along the guide rail 103, and reference numeral 642 denotes a conveyance motor driver that drives a conveyance motor 118 for conveying the recording medium 102.

  The ASIC 603 transfers printing element (ejection heater) drive data (DATA) to the print head while directly accessing the storage area of the RAM 602 during print scan by the print head 105.

  A head temperature sensor 105b for measuring the head temperature is provided inside the recording head 105.

  In addition, the printer 800 is a small battery (lithium battery, nickel-metal hydride battery, alkaline button battery, silver oxide battery, zinc-air battery) so that the timekeeping operation can be continued even when the power supply from the AC power supply or DC power supply is lost. A timer 607 operable with power supplied from the battery 608 is provided. The time measured by the timer 607 is stored in a nonvolatile memory 609 such as an EEPROM. As the nonvolatile memory, FeRAM, MRAM or the like may be used in addition to the EEPROM.

  Since this recording apparatus is for both AC power supply and DC (battery) power supply, even if the AC adapter is pulled out while AC power is supplied from an AC adapter (not shown), The power can be supplied from the DC (battery) and the operation can be continued. For this reason, this recording apparatus is provided with a mechanism for discriminating between AC adapter driving and battery driving. Since such a mechanism is known, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Furthermore, the interface (I / F) 611 of this recording apparatus is both a wired interface that can be connected to an external host via a wired connection such as USB and a wireless interface such as a communication function compliant with IrDA. It has.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the wireless interface and its periphery.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the wireless interface 611R includes an interface (I / F) device 611a compliant with an infrared communication protocol and an interface (I / F) device controller 611b that controls the interface (I / F) device 611b. Therefore, data transmitted from the interface (I / F) device 610a of the host apparatus 610 by infrared communication is received by the I / F device 611a. Conversely, information transmitted from the recording apparatus 800 to the host apparatus 610 is also I / F. It is transmitted via the F device 611a.

  Now, the data received from the host device 610 is sequentially stored in the received data storage area 604a provided in the RAM 604. The received data is read by the data analysis unit 603a of the ASIC 603, the received content is processed in a specific unit, and is converted into data for recording. The converted data is set in the recording data storage area 604b of the RAM 604. When the MPU 600 is notified of the timing of completion of generation of the recording data from the data analysis unit 603a, the MPU 600 reads the data from the recording data storage area 604b, and in accordance with the read data, the recording head 105, the carriage motor driver 640, and the conveyance The motor driver 642 is controlled to execute a recording operation.

  The I / F device 611a and the I / F device control unit 611b that controls the I / F device 611a include an infrared interface conforming to an infrared communication protocol. The I / F device control unit 611b can execute control according to an object exchange protocol (IrOBEX) that is a file exchange service as an application of an infrared communication protocol.

  In addition, when the host device 610 is a personal computer, the recording apparatus 800 of this embodiment does not include a cable emulation application used during recording via a printer driver that performs recording data conversion.

  Data received by the infrared interface is analyzed by the I / F device 611a for data encoding processing. When the data is normally received, the received data is output to the I / F device control unit 611b. When an abnormality occurs, an error occurs. The generation is notified to the I / F device control unit 611b. On the other hand, in the transmission process, the transmission data generated by the I / F device control unit 611b is encoded by the I / F device 611a and transmitted as output data.

  Next, station discovery processing, which is communication device search processing compliant with the infrared communication protocol, will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication establishment procedure of the station discovery process.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a station discovery command and a station discovery response. 7A is a diagram showing the format of the information field of the station discovery command (XID Cmd), and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the format of the information field of the station discovery response (XID Res). In the infrared communication protocol, the configuration of transfer information is defined, and in the information field according to the configuration, configuration data having the formats shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B are commands and responses in the station discovery process. Yes.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of discovery information included in the information field shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the structure of the SNRM command and UA response. In FIG. 9, (a) shows the format of the information field of the SNRM command, and (b) shows the format of the information field of the UA response.

  The infrared communication protocol is divided into several protocol layers, and each layer provides a predetermined communication service. Among them are the IrLAP layer of the link access layer, the multiplexer and the IrLMP layer of the database layer. Station discovery processing consists of communication protocols in both layers.

  In the station discovery process, a station discovery command (XID Cmd: see FIG. 7A), which is a communication command in the IrLAP layer, is emitted from a device of a host (referred to as a primary station) as a device search, and a slave (referred to as a secondary station). ) Sends a station discovery response (XID Res: see FIG. 7B) in response to the station discovery command to notify the primary station that there is a communicable device.

  Now, the primary station equipment transmits the station discovery command for the number of slots of 1, 6, 8, and 16 specified by the discovery flag of the station discovery command shown in FIG. The device responds by sending a station discovery response somewhere in between. In this station discovery process, the secondary station side device is not allowed to respond to the final (station discovery) command. Further, the device of the primary station must put the device information in the discovery information (see FIG. 8) in the final (station discovery) command.

  When the primary station device repeats such station discovery processing and connects to the designated device, the primary station device transmits an SNRM command (see FIG. 9A), which is a communication command in the IrLAP layer, to the secondary station. Start the negotiation process with the station equipment. This negotiation process is a process for determining communication parameters such as a transfer rate after the link connection to the IrLAP layer is completed. In the station discovery process described above, an SNRM command is transmitted from the device address of the communication device (see FIG. 7B) to a specific device (device) to be linked. On the other hand, when the secondary station device (apparatus) permits link connection, the link connection is completed by transmitting a UA (see FIG. 9B) and responding.

  Further, when connection is made to a higher protocol layer, connection processing is similarly performed by a communication command of each layer.

  Next, processing at the time of establishing communication with the host of the recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 5, when the host device 610 is a personal computer (PC), the recording device 800 is a cable used at the time of recording via a printer driver that performs data conversion for recording. Does not have an emulation application.

  Therefore, when the host device 610 is a personal computer (PC), a connection request by cable emulation is not made in advance by not performing a station discovery response as a search process. However, when the host device 610 is other than a personal computer (PC), it is necessary to permit the connection, and the separation process is performed as follows.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a station discovery processing communication establishment procedure of the recording apparatus according to this embodiment.

  According to FIG. 10, if the recording apparatus 800 that becomes the secondary station starts to receive the first station discovery process (1101 in FIG. 10), no response is made, and the host device 610, which is the primary station, receives the final command. As information, the discovery information shown in FIG. 8 is acquired. According to FIG. 8, in this discovery information, when the second bit (Bit2) of the service hint of the first byte is turned on and a personal computer (PC) is set, the recording apparatus 800 uses the host device 610 as a personal computer. If the bit is off, it is determined that the device is a device other than the personal computer (PC).

  Next, if the recording apparatus 800 starts to receive the second station discovery process (1102 in FIG. 10), if it is determined that the apparatus is a device other than the personal computer (PC) in the previous station discovery process, the recording apparatus 800 sends it to the host apparatus. To respond.

  Similarly, when an SNRM command (see FIG. 9A), which is a negotiation process, is received, if it is determined that the device is a device other than a personal computer (PC) in the previous station discovery process, the UA is notified to the host device. A response (see FIG. 9B) is made.

  Further, response control according to the infrared communication protocol of the recording apparatus 800 according to this embodiment will be described in relation to the processing at the time of communication establishment described above.

  In the station discovery process described above, in the infrared communication protocol, a state in which nothing is received (a state in which the first station discovery command or SNRM command is received) is called an NDM state, and one command in the station discovery process is received. A state during one station discovery process is called a REPLY state.

  For each of the NDM state and the REPLY state, response control according to the infrared communication protocol in the station discovery process will be described with reference to flowcharts.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing response control in the NDM state, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing response control in the REPLY state.

  First, response processing in the NDM state will be described.

  First, in step S1, it is checked whether or not the host device recognized in the previous station discovery process is a personal computer (PC). If the host device is a personal computer (PC), the process proceeds to step S4. If the host apparatus is a device other than the personal computer (PC), the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, it is checked whether or not the transmission source device address (DeviceAdd) recognized in the previous station discovery process is the same as the transmission source device address included in the transmission source device address reception command recognized in the current station discovery process. If the two match, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S3, the recording apparatus is set to a state where no response is made in the current station discovery process, and the device address of the new host apparatus received in the current process is stored.

  In step S4, it is checked whether the received command is a station discovery command (XID Cmd). If it is a station discovery command, the process proceeds to step S5, and if not, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S5, it is checked whether or not the format identifier (FORMAT_ID) of this received command is “0x01”. If so, the process proceeds to step S6. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S21, and the station discovery process is performed. No response is made, and re-reception setting is performed.

  In step S6, the value of the discovery flag of the station discovery command (XID Cmd) and the value of the number of slots are acquired, and in step S7, it is checked whether or not the relationship between these values is appropriate. For example, even if the value of the two bits of the discovery flag is “10” (the maximum number of slots means 8), if the number of slots is “12”, for example, the value is invalid. . If it is determined that the relationship is invalid, the command is discarded, and the process proceeds to slot S21. If determined to be valid, the process proceeds to slot S8.

  In step S8, it is checked whether the currently received station discovery command is the last slot. If it is the last slot, no response is made to the command. The process proceeds to step S9 to return the reception state to the initial state, and finally If it is not a slot, the process proceeds to step S10 to determine a response slot number. In step S11, the state of the recording apparatus is changed to the REPLY state.

  Further, in steps S12 to S13, it is checked whether or not the number of response slots matches the number of reception slots, and whether or not the recording apparatus can respond from the device information of the previous station discovery process. If both are satisfied, the process proceeds to step S14, and a station discovery response is made in accordance with the format shown in FIG. On the other hand, if neither of the conditions is satisfied, the station discovery response is not performed, the process proceeds to step S21, and re-reception setting is performed.

  When the process proceeds to step S15, it is first checked whether the received command is an SNRM command. If so, the process proceeds to step S16. If not, the process proceeds to step S21.

  In step S16, it is further checked whether the device address (DeviceAdd) obtained by the previous station discovery process matches the connection address (ConnectionAdd) included in the SNRM command received this time. If there is a mismatch in S17, the process proceeds to step S21. In step S17, it is checked whether or not the destination device address included in the received SNRM command matches the device address of the recording apparatus 800 according to this embodiment. If they match, the process proceeds to step S18. Proceed to S21.

  Further, in step S18, it is checked whether or not the recording device can respond from the device information of the previous station discovery process. If it is in a response ready state, the process proceeds to step S19, and the device address, connection address, negotiation parameter, etc. Necessary information is held, and in step S20, a UA response is made according to the format shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the response is not possible, the process proceeds to step S21.

  When the process proceeds to step S21, the re-reception setting is performed without performing the UA response as described above.

  First, response processing in the REPLY state will be described.

  First, in step S101, it is checked whether or not the received command is a station discovery command (XID Cmd). If it is a station discovery command, the process proceeds to step S102. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S112, and the response to the station discovery process is Set the re-reception without doing it.

  In step S102, it is checked whether or not the format identifier (FORMAT_ID) of this received command is “0x01”. If so, the process proceeds to step S103. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S111, and the station discovery process is performed. No response is made, and re-reception setting is performed.

  In step S103, the value of the discovery flag of the station discovery command (XID Cmd) and the value of the number of slots are acquired, and in step S104, it is checked whether or not the relationship between these values is appropriate. For example, even if the value of the two bits of the discovery flag is “10” (the maximum number of slots means 8), if the number of slots is “12”, for example, the value is invalid. . If it is determined that the relationship is invalid, the command is discarded, and the process proceeds to slot S111. If it is determined to be valid, the process proceeds to slot S105.

  In step S105, it is checked whether the currently received station discovery command is the last slot. If it is the last slot, the process proceeds to step S106, and the discovery information shown in FIG. 8 is acquired. In step S107, it is checked whether the second bit (Bit2) of the service hint of the first byte of the discovery information is on. Here, if the bit is on, it is determined that the host device 611 is a personal computer (PC), and the process proceeds to step S109, and the next station discovery process is set so as not to respond to the host device. On the other hand, if the bit is off, the host device 611 determines that it is other than a personal computer (PC), and the process proceeds to step S108 to set the response to the host device in the next station discovery process. To. Thereafter, the processing proceeds to step S110, and initialization processing (that is, returning the state to NDM, etc.) is performed in order to receive the next station discovery processing.

  If the received station discovery command is not the final slot, the process proceeds to step S112 to check whether the recording apparatus is in a state of responding to the received command. If the response is not possible, the process proceeds to step S111. If the response is possible, the process proceeds to step S113. In step S113, it is checked whether or not the response slot number is equal to or smaller than the number of received slots. If the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S114, and a station discovery response shown in FIG. 7B is performed. On the other hand, if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S111 to perform re-reception setting.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, for example, a recording apparatus that does not have a cable emulation application that performs recording data conversion for a personal computer (PC) responds in the first station discovery process from the host apparatus. First, only the device information of the host device is acquired, and in the second station discovery process, the host device indicated by the device information obtained in the previous station discovery process is other than a personal computer (PC), and the device address condition The response is made only to the host device that requires a response.

  As a result, a communication operation does not occur because the recording apparatus rejects a communication request from a device that does not support the service, and wasteful power consumption for that purpose can be saved. Also, the host device side will not reject the communication request and there will be no response, so it will cause malfunction due to unexpected communication rejection, or it will cause communication rejection on the display of the communication device of the device etc. It is also possible to prevent an error from being displayed.

  In the embodiment described above, a cable emulation application that performs recording data conversion compatible with a personal computer (PC) has been exemplified as a service that a recording device compatible with infrared communication cannot service, but this is merely an example, It goes without saying that other services may be used.

1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the battery charger with the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of a printer 800. FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printer 800 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed functional structure of a radio | wireless interface and its periphery. It is a figure which shows the communication establishment procedure of a station discovery process. It is a figure which shows the structure of a station discovery command and a station discovery response. It is a figure which shows the structure of the discovery information contained in the information field shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a SNRM command and a UA response. It is a figure which shows a station discovery process communication establishment procedure. It is a flowchart which shows the response control in a NDM state. It is a flowchart which shows the response control in a RELPY state.

Explanation of symbols

105 Recording head 601 MPU
610 Host device 610a I / F device 611 Interface 611a I / F device 611b I / F device controller

Claims (5)

A recording device for receiving and recording data from a host,
Infrared communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the host according to a predetermined infrared communication protocol;
A discriminating unit for discriminating the type of the host at the time of first information reception from the host via the infrared communication unit;
A determination means for determining whether to make a response to the host according to a determination result by the determination means at the time of second information reception from the host via the infrared communication means;
And a response unit configured to respond to the host in accordance with a determination result by the determination unit.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the host includes a mobile phone, an information portable terminal, a laptop computer, and a desktop computer having an infrared communication interface.   3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination by the determination unit is performed according to whether or not a service can be provided to the type of host determined by the determination unit.   4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising power supply means for both AC driving and DC driving. A communication method for performing data communication according to a predetermined infrared communication protocol,
A determination step of determining the type of the host at the time of first information reception from the host according to the predetermined infrared communication protocol;
A determination step of determining whether to respond to the host according to a determination result in the determination step at the time of second information reception from the host according to the predetermined infrared communication protocol;
And a response step of responding to the host according to the determination result in the determination step.

Images