JP2014051005A - Electronic device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device whose initial operation can be safely simplified and a control method for simplifying the initial operation.SOLUTION: An electronic device, which has one or more members whose states change according to one or more specified operations of the electronic device, includes: history retaining means to retain a state of each member as a history of each operation; history detection means to detect the retained history of each operation when powered up; and control means to perform control so that at least a part of an initial operation is omitted or postponed according to each of detected histories.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device capable of reducing the time required for an initial operation performed at power-on, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable program for executing the method.

  Electronic devices such as digital cameras, scanner devices, printers, and MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) start their initial operations when powered on. For example, in the initial operation of an ink jet printer, there are foreign objects such as paper in the path of transporting the paper and the movement range of the carriage equipped with the recording head for ejecting ink, and the ink cannot be ejected normally. Detect anomalies. In this initial operation, the carriage is abutted against the end of the printer casing, and the carriage is aligned.

  In order to shorten the time required for such an initial operation, for example, when the power is turned on, each state of the printer (whether there is an abnormality when the power is turned off last time, a flag indicating that the carriage is correctly positioned at the home position, or a jam is displayed. A technique is known in which unnecessary processing is omitted according to the detected state (see Patent Document 1).

  In the above technology, each operation executed in the initial operation is judged based on whether it is necessary only from the previous power-off state and the power-on state. If the state is restored to the previous power-off state before the power is turned on, the change in the state cannot be detected.

  For example, check that the ink cartridge is removed and replaced while the power cable is unplugged and that it is not a replacement with a new one, or that the cover has been opened or closed while the power cable was unplugged, and some foreign object has been placed. It cannot be detected.

  In such a case, if a part of the initial operation is omitted as an unnecessary process, unexpected ink non-ejection may occur, and the carriage and the foreign object may collide during the printing operation. . This cannot safely simplify the initial operation.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is an electronic device that performs an initial operation when power is turned on, and includes one or more members whose states change with respect to one or more specified operations of the electronic device. At least one of the initial actions according to each detected history, history holding means for holding the state of each operation as history of each operation, history detecting means for detecting the history of each operation held upon power-on, There is provided an electronic device including control means for performing control to omit or postpone the part.

  By providing the electronic device of the present invention, it is possible to detect a specified operation that occurs when the power is turned off as a history, so it is possible to more accurately determine the necessity of the initial operation, and to make the initial operation safe. Can be simplified. Further, it is possible to enter a standby state that can be used in a short time.

The side view which showed the structural example of the inkjet printer as an electronic device of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1. The flowchart which showed the flow of the engine initial operation at the time of the conventional power activation. The functional block diagram of the controller board with which an inkjet printer is provided. The figure which showed the structural example of the log | history detection mechanism with which an inkjet printer is provided. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process until it cuts off a power supply. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process at the time of power activation. The figure which illustrated the implementation necessity table of engine initial operation. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process at the time of engine initial operation execution. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process when an upper cover close is detected.

  1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating a configuration example of an ink jet printer as an electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment. 1 and 2 exemplify an ink jet printer as the electronic device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an electrophotographic printer, a digital camera, a scanner device, an MFP, or the like. .

  The inkjet printer 10 includes left and right side plates 11a and 11b constituting a frame 11, a guide rod 12 that is a guide member horizontally mounted on the side plates 11a and 11b, a stay 13 that is a reinforcing member, a guide rod 12 and a stay 13. And a carriage 14 supported so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction. The carriage 14 is moved in the main scanning direction which is the longitudinal direction of the guide rod 12 via a timing belt (not shown) by a main scanning motor (not shown).

  The carriage 14 includes a recording head 15 composed of four droplet discharge heads that discharge recording liquids (inks) of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (B). ing. The recording head 15 is mounted such that a plurality of ink ejection openings are arranged in a direction (sub-scanning direction) intersecting the main scanning direction, and the ejection direction is directed downward.

  The inkjet head constituting the recording head 15 includes a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element that deforms when a voltage is applied, a thermal actuator that utilizes a phase change caused by film boiling of ink using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a temperature. A shape memory alloy actuator using a metal phase change due to a change, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like can be employed as pressure generating means for generating pressure for ejecting ink.

  For example, the recording head 15 is mounted with a driver IC (Integrated Circuit) and can be connected to a control unit (not shown) via a harness (flexible print cable) 16.

  The ink jet head can be driven by being divided in time in addition to simultaneously driving all the ejection openings. If all the discharge ports are driven at the same time, the quality may be deteriorated due to the influence of crosstalk between the discharge ports, and there may be a disadvantage that the capacity of the power source is increased due to the necessity of a large current temporarily. However, this is because it is possible to avoid such disadvantages by driving with time division. Here, the crosstalk is, for example, when an inkjet head including a piezoelectric actuator is used, a displacement amount when a plurality of piezoelectric actuators are driven simultaneously, and a displacement amount when only one piezoelectric actuator is driven. Means different.

  The inkjet printer 10 includes a sub tank 17 for each color for supplying ink of each color to a recording head 15 mounted on the carriage 14, an ink supply tube 18 for each color connected to the sub tank 17 for each color, and an ink supply tube for each color. 18 is connected, and an ink cartridge 19 filled with ink of each color and a cartridge loading unit 20 for mounting the ink cartridge 19 of each color are provided. Further, the ink jet printer 10 includes a supply pump unit 21 that supplies ink from the ink cartridge 19 to the sub tank 17 via the ink supply tube 18.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, since the length of the ink supply tube 18 is long, a locking member 22 for locking the middle of the ink supply tube 18 is provided on the rear plate 11 c constituting the frame 11. In FIG. 1, only one locking member 22 is shown, but two or more locking members 22 may be provided. The locking member 22 may have any structure as long as it can fix the middle of the ink supply tube 18 to the frame 11 or the like.

  The inkjet printer 10 also includes a paper feed tray 25 having a paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 24 for stacking papers 23, and a paper feed roller 26 that separates and transports the papers 23 from the paper stacking unit 24 one by one. And a separation pad 27 made of a material having a large coefficient of friction, such as rubber, which is provided opposite to the paper feed roller 26. The separation pad 27 is urged toward the paper feed roller 26 side.

  The ink jet printer 10 includes a guide member 28 that guides the paper 23, a counter roller 29, a transport guide member 30, and a front end to feed the paper 23 supplied from the paper feed tray 25 to the lower side of the recording head 15. A pressing member 32 having a pressure roller 31 and a conveyor belt 33 are provided. The conveyance belt 33 functions as a conveyance unit for electrostatically attracting the sheet 23 and conveying the sheet 23 to a position facing the recording head 15.

  The conveyor belt 33 is a ring-shaped belt having a predetermined width, is stretched between the conveyor roller 34 and the tension roller 35, and is configured to circulate in the sub-scanning direction that is the belt conveyance direction. . As the transport belt 33, for example, a surface layer that becomes a sheet adsorbing surface formed of a resin material such as a thermoplastic fluororesin (eg, ETFE) having a thickness of about 40 μm that is not subjected to resistance control, and the same material as the surface layer is made of carbon. Those having a back layer (medium resistance layer, earth layer) subjected to resistance control can be employed.

  The inkjet printer 10 includes a charging roller 36 for charging the surface of the conveyance belt 33 in addition to the conveyance roller 34 and the tension roller 35 described above. The charging roller 36 is arranged so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 33 and to rotate by the rotation of the conveyor belt 33, and applies a predetermined pressing force to both ends of the shaft. The conveyance roller 34 serves as a ground, and is arranged to be in direct contact with the back layer (medium resistance layer) of the conveyance belt 33 and is grounded.

  On the back side of the conveyance belt 33, a guide member 37 is disposed corresponding to a printing area by the recording head 15. The guide member 37 has two rollers whose upper surfaces support the conveyance belt 33, that is, the conveyance roller 34. By projecting toward the recording head 15 side from a straight line connecting the tension roller 35 and the tension roller 35, high-precision flatness of the conveyor belt 33 is maintained.

  The transport belt 33 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor (not shown), and the transport belt 33 rotates in the sub-scanning direction, which is the belt transport direction shown in FIG.

  The inkjet printer 10 includes a separation claw 38, a paper discharge roller 39, a paper discharge roller 40, and a paper discharge tray 41 as a paper discharge unit. The paper discharge unit is for discharging paper on which printing has been performed by ejecting ink from the recording head 15. The separation claw 38 separates the paper 23 from the transport belt 33. The paper discharge tray 41 is provided below the paper discharge roller 39, and the height from between the paper discharge roller 39 and the paper discharge roller 40 can make the number of sheets 23 that can be stocked on the paper discharge tray 41. It is only a certain height to make more.

  The inkjet printer 10 includes a duplex unit 42 and a manual feed tray 43 provided on the upper part of the duplex unit 42. The duplex unit 42 is detachably attached to the back surface of the main body of the inkjet printer 10. Further, the duplex unit 42 takes in the paper 23 returned in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 33, reverses it, and feeds the paper again between the counter roller 29 and the conveyance belt 33.

  Further, the ink jet printer 10 includes a maintenance / recovery mechanism 44 including a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the state of the nozzles of the recording head 15 disposed in a non-printing area on one side in the scanning direction of the carriage 14. Yes. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 44 discharges the caps 45 for capping (covering) the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 15, the wiper blade 46, which is a blade member for wiping the nozzle surfaces, and the thickened ink. Therefore, an empty discharge receiver 47 for receiving ink when empty discharge is performed is provided. In FIG. 2, one cap 45 a is a suction and moisture retention cap, and the other caps 45 b to 45 d are moisture retention caps.

  The ink waste generated by the maintenance / recovery operation of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 44, the ink discharged to the cap 45, the ink adhered to the wiper blade 46 and removed by the wiper cleaner, and the ink ejected to the idle ejection receiver 47 are shown in the figure. Not discharged into the waste liquid tank and stored.

  As described above, the maintenance / recovery mechanism 44 is arranged in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 14 in the scanning direction. In the other printing area, the ink that has been thickened during printing is discharged. An empty discharge receptacle 48 is arranged. The idle discharge receptacle 48 is provided with an opening 49 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 15.

  The inkjet printer 10 includes a communication circuit unit (not shown) and a control circuit board. The communication circuit unit is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like for transmitting / receiving data to / from a host provided on the inner rear side of the printer main body. The control circuit board is configured as a control unit that controls the entire printer.

  The ink jet printer 10 separates and supplies the paper 23 one by one from the paper feed tray 25, guides the paper 23 fed in a substantially vertical direction by the guide member 28, and conveys the belt 33 and the counter roller. 29 to be conveyed. Then, the inkjet printer 10 guides the leading end of the paper 23 by the transport guide member 30 and presses it against the transport belt 33 by the front end pressure roller 31 to change the transport direction by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, alternating voltages are applied by a control circuit board (not shown) so that positive and negative outputs are alternately repeated from the AC bias supply unit to the charging roller 36. For this reason, the conveyance belt 33 has an alternating charging voltage pattern. In other words, positive and negative voltages are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction, which is the circumferential direction. When the sheet 23 is fed to the conveying belt 33 to which such alternating voltage is applied, the sheet 23 is attracted to the conveying belt 33 and is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveying belt 33. .

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 15 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 14, the ink is ejected onto the stopped paper 23 to print one line, and then the paper 23 is conveyed by a predetermined amount. Print the next line. In this way, upon receiving a print end signal or a signal indicating that the trailing edge of the paper 23 has reached the printing area, the printing operation is terminated, and the paper 23 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 41.

  While waiting for printing, the carriage 14 is moved to the maintenance / recovery mechanism 44 side, the recording head 15 is capped by the cap 45, and the nozzle is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. Further, in a state where the recording head 15 is capped by the cap 45, a recovery operation is performed in which ink is sucked from a nozzle by a suction pump (not shown) and thickened ink and bubbles are discharged. Then, an idle ejection operation is performed before printing is started. Thereby, the stable ejection performance of the recording head 15 can be maintained.

  Before describing the detailed configuration and initial operation of the electronic apparatus of the present invention, the initial operation of the engine performed when the power is turned on (when the power is turned on) by a conventional inkjet printer will be briefly described with reference to FIG. Keep it. In the conventional inkjet printer, when the printer power is turned on in step 300, the initial operation of the engine is started. In the initial operation, the engine is initialized. The content of the initialization is mainly to confirm that there is no abnormality in the printer and to prepare for executing the printing operation.

  In step 305, first, a capping release operation is performed. Normally, when the power is turned off (when the power is turned off), capping is performed by the cap 45 for the purpose of moisture retention in order to prevent the nozzles of the recording head 15 from drying and clogging. Since the carriage 14 cannot be moved with the cap 45 on, the cap 45 is removed and the capping is released when the initial operation is executed.

  In step 310, the main scanning position positioning operation is performed. The position of the carriage 14 is detected using an encoder sheet. However, this position detection only detects the movement amount. Therefore, when the power is turned on, in order to adjust the reference position, as the positioning operation described above, the carriage 14 is abutted against the end of the printer casing, and an operation for using the position as a reference is performed.

  In step 315, it is detected whether or not a jam (paper jam) has occurred. This is because printing cannot be performed when a jam has occurred. As a method for detecting the occurrence of a jam, a method in which the conveyance belt 33 is rotated for a certain period of time and detected by a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of paper in the conveyance path, or a load during rotation of the conveyance belt 33 is in a certain range. There is a method of detecting depending on whether or not it is within.

  If it is detected in step 315 that no jam has occurred, the process proceeds to step 320 to detect the presence or absence of foreign matter within the movement range of the carriage 14. Since the upper cover can be opened in order to remove the paper 23 or the like, there is a possibility that foreign matter is mixed in the movement range of the carriage 14. If printing is performed with the foreign matter mixed in, the carriage 14 and the carriage 14 may collide with each other and the carriage 14 or the recording head 15 may be damaged. This must be prevented. Therefore, the presence or absence of such foreign matter is detected. As a method for detecting a foreign object, it is possible to slowly move the carriage 14 at the time of activation and check whether the load is within a certain range.

  If no foreign matter is detected in step 320, the process proceeds to step 325 to detect whether there is an abnormality in the sub tank 17. That is, it is detected whether the amount of ink in the sub tank 17 is an appropriate amount or whether air is mixed in the sub tank 17 or the like. This is because when the ink amount is insufficient, printing cannot be performed, and when air is mixed, the recording head 15 may be clogged with bubbles. If the amount of ink is not appropriate, ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge 19 via the ink supply tube 18 or discharged from the nozzle. If air is mixed, the ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge 19 after discharging from the nozzle and removing the air.

  If it is detected in step 325 that there is no abnormality in the sub tank 17, the process proceeds to step 330. If it is detected that there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step 335 in order to perform the recovery operation as described above. In step 335, a recovery operation is performed, and it is determined whether or not recovery has been performed in step 340. If it has recovered, the process proceeds to step 330; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 350.

  In step 330, in response to the completion of the initial operation, the recording head 15 is capped for moisture retention to prevent drying. In step 345, the initial operation is terminated. In this case, the process ends normally.

  If a jam occurs in step 315, or if a foreign object is detected in step 320, it is not recovered by the recovery operation in step 340, and the process proceeds to step 350 to send a print instruction to the display unit or printer provided in the printer. An error is displayed on the display unit such as the PC. The error display may be, for example, a display prompting to remove a jam because it has occurred, a display prompting to remove it because there is a foreign object, or a display prompting to check because there is an abnormality in the sub tank 17. it can. Since these are examples, the present invention is not limited to this.

  After displaying an error in step 350, the process proceeds to step 355, where capping is performed in the same manner as in step 330, and the initial operation is terminated in step 360. In this case, since the initial operation has not been completed normally, the process ends abnormally.

  The initial operation shown in FIG. 3 involves the operation of the actuator, such as the movement of the carriage and the rotation of the conveyance belt, and is a process that requires a certain time. However, such processing can be reduced if the printer status is monitored even when the power is turned off to ensure that there is no abnormality. If one of these processes can be reduced, the startup time can be shortened.

  The correspondence between the shortenable operation and its conditions is described below. The capping release operation in step 305 and the capping operation in step 330 are not necessary when all the processes involving the movement of the carriage 14 are unnecessary as conditions. Regarding the positioning operation of the main scanning position in step 310, if the capping operation is normally completed at the previous end as a condition, it can be considered that the carriage 14 has not moved, so the position at the previous end is set. Can do.

  The jam detection operation in step 315 is unnecessary if the conveyance belt 33 does not move during the power-off period as a condition. The foreign object detection operation in step 320 is unnecessary if the cover is not opened or closed while the power is turned off as a condition. The abnormality detection operation in the sub-tank 17 in step 325 becomes unnecessary when the cover of the ink cartridge 19 is not opened or closed while the power is turned off as a condition. Unnecessary operations can be omitted or carried out at any time after the completion of the initial operation. The arbitrary time is, for example, a time when a print job is not processed.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration for determining whether or not to perform these processes in the initial operation of the inkjet printer 10 as the electronic apparatus of the present embodiment, and shortening the startup time without performing unnecessary processes. FIG. 4 is a controller board 51 to which an external device such as a PC 50 is connected, and a power supply unit (PSU) 52 that supplies power from the power plug to the controller board 51, as in the conventional inkjet printer. , An operation unit 53 that receives user input and displays processing status and errors, a motor 54 that drives each roller, a recording head 15, and various sensors 55 are provided. Since the PC 50 is not included in the ink jet printer, it is indicated by a broken line. Since these are the same as the configuration of a conventional printer, they will not be described in detail.

  The controller board 51 includes a host I / F 56, a power supply circuit 57, an operation unit I / F 58, a sensor I / F 59, an engine control unit 60, an image output unit 61, a RAM 62, a ROM 63, and an NVRAM 64. Are connected to each other. The SoC 65 is a semiconductor chip on which all functions necessary for the operation of the printer are mounted.

  The host I / F 56 is an interface that receives print data from an external device such as the PC 50 through USB, Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like. The power supply circuit 57 inputs DC power generated from the commercial power by the PSU 52. The power supply circuit 57 generates a power supply of various voltage values used on the board from the input DC power supply, and stops the power supply to a specific block according to the state of the printer.

  The operation unit I / F 58 is a block that determines a key input from the operation unit 53 and controls display of a display unit mounted on the operation unit 53. The sensor I / F 59 is a block that performs power supply, voltage value conversion, analog-digital conversion, and the like for the upper cover sensor 66, the upper cover open history sensor 67, and various sensors 55. The upper cover sensor 66 is a sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the upper cover of the printer. The upper cover is opened by the user when the jammed paper 23 is removed or when the ink cartridge 19 is replaced. The upper cover is closed after these operations are completed.

  The ink jet printer 10 includes an upper cover open history sensor 67 that is not found in a conventional printer. The upper cover open history sensor 67 is a sensor capable of holding the upper cover as a history when the upper cover is opened and closed when the power is turned off, and detecting the held history when the power is turned on. . The upper cover open history sensor 67 will be described later. Here, only the upper cover open history sensor 67 is additionally mounted, but other history sensors such as an ink cover open history sensor can be additionally mounted.

  The various sensors 55 can include an ink cover open detection sensor, a paper presence / absence detection sensor, a carriage position detection sensor, a temperature / humidity sensor, and the like. The ink cover open detection sensor is a sensor for detecting opening and closing of the ink cover. The paper presence / absence detection sensor is a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of paper. The carriage position detection sensor is a sensor for detecting the current position of the carriage. The temperature / humidity sensor is a sensor for detecting temperature and humidity.

  The engine control unit 60 is a block that controls actuators such as the motor and clutch described above. The image output unit 61 is a block that transmits print data and a head drive waveform in accordance with the movement of the recording head 15 mounted on the carriage 14 and performs control for ejecting ink from the recording head 15.

  The ROM 63 stores programs and the like, and the RAM 62 is an execution area for the programs. The NVRAM 64 is a rewritable RAM whose value stored therein does not change even when the power is turned off. The NVRAM 64 functions as a storage unit, and stores information related to the printer state, for example, information on whether or not the power-off has been performed under a normal sequence, and information on the main scanning position when the power is turned off. used.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a history detection mechanism as the upper cover open history sensor 67. FIG. 5A is a view of the printer from which the upper cover is removed as viewed from above. FIG. 5A shows a history detection mechanism 68 as an upper cover sensor 66 and an upper cover open history sensor 67 in addition to the carriage 14 and the guide rod 12. Each of the upper cover sensor 66 and the history detection mechanism 68 includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit (not shown), and uses an optical sensor that detects the open / closed state of the upper cover depending on the presence / absence of a member that shields light therebetween. Can do. Since this is an example, the present invention is not limited to this.

  The carriage 14 is movable along the longitudinal direction of the guide rod 12. In FIG. 5A, the carriage 14 is abutted against the end of the printer housing in order to align the reference position in the initial operation. It is shown in contact with the history detection mechanism 68 in the meantime.

  Since the upper cover sensor 66 and the history detection mechanism 68 use optical sensors, the opening and closing of the upper cover and its history cannot be detected when the printer is not turned on. On the other hand, when the power is turned on, values detected by the upper cover sensor 66 and the history detection mechanism 68 are input to the SoC 65 by the sensor I / F 59 as output signals. The SoC 65 detects the opening and closing of the upper cover and its history by executing a program and acquiring output signals from these sensors and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the history detection mechanism 68 has a fulcrum 69, a rod-like member 70 that is configured to be rotatable about the fulcrum 69, and one above and below the member 70. It is comprised from the log | history detection sensor 71 comprised from the light emission part and light-receiving part which are arrange | positioned. In FIG. 5B, only one of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is shown as the history detection sensor 71. The member 70 functions as a history holding unit, and the history detection sensor 71 functions as a history detection unit.

  As shown in the drawing on the right side of FIG. 5C, the history detection mechanism 68 extends downward from the upper cover 72 when an operation of opening the upper cover 72 upward is performed, and the lower end portion is the history detection mechanism. The history detecting mechanism 68 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow by the member 73 extending to the 68 side. At this time, the member 70 of the history detection mechanism 68 rotates around the fulcrum 69 as shown in the right side of FIG. 5B, and moves the history detection sensor 71 in a direction not shielding light.

  Even if the upper cover 72 is closed thereafter, the member 70 does not return to the position where the history detection sensor 71 shown in the left side of FIG. 5B is shielded. That is, the member 70 moves only in a certain direction when the upper cover is opened and closed. However, during the initial operation after the power is turned on, the carriage 14 is moved in the main scanning direction, and the carriage 14 is abutted against the end of the housing as shown in FIG. Then, the history detection sensor 71 is returned to the position where the light is shielded. The state of the history detection mechanism 68 when the light is returned to the light-shielding position is the state shown on the left side of FIGS. 5B and 5C.

  By adopting such a configuration including the history detection mechanism 68, even if the upper cover is opened and closed when the printer is turned off, the value detected by the history detection sensor 71 when the printer is turned on is confirmed. Thus, it can be detected whether or not the upper cover 72 is opened and closed while the power is off. Further, after the power is turned on, the history detection sensor 71 can be returned to the light shielding position by moving the carriage 14 so as to abut against it. This configuration is an example, and other configurations can be adopted as long as the same effects can be obtained.

  The SoC 65 detects a history from the value detected by the history detection mechanism 68, and performs control to omit or postpone at least a part of the initial operation according to the history. For this reason, SoC65 can be functioned as a control means. The SoC 65 instructs the engine control unit 60 and the like not to perform a predetermined operation, and instructs the operation to be postponed. Thereby, the above control can be realized. For example, when the history indicates that the cover is not opened or closed while the power is off, the engine control unit 60 or the like is instructed to omit the foreign object detection operation within the movement range of the carriage 14.

  With reference to FIG. 6, the process until the power of the inkjet printer 10 is turned off will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing. This process is started from step 600 by starting the power-off sequence. First, in step 605, various error states are checked to determine whether an error has occurred. Here, instead of reconfirming various errors, it is assumed that they have already been detected, and it is only determined whether an error has occurred.

  If it is determined in step 605 that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step 610 to record the type of error that has occurred in the NVRAM 64. Then, the process proceeds to Step 615. On the other hand, if it is determined that no error has occurred, the process directly proceeds to step 615.

  In step 615, it is determined whether opening / closing of the cover (for example, cover open) is detected. The cover here may be only the upper cover or may include an ink cover or the like. When the cover open is detected, the process proceeds to step 620, and the type of the open cover is recorded in the NVRAM 64. Here, the type of the cover is used. However, the type of the sensor that detects the cover may be used as long as it can be identified. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 645.

  If the cover open is not detected in step 615, the process proceeds to step 625, and it is determined from the state of the member 70 as shown in FIG. If it is determined in step 625 that the history is not open / closed, the process proceeds to step 635, and if not, the process proceeds to step 630. In step 630, the carriage 14 is abutted, the member 70 is returned to the position where the history detection sensor 71 is shielded from light, and the process returns to step 625. In step 635, the normal end flag and the current main scanning position are recorded in the NVRAM 64. The current main scanning position can be detected using the encoder sheet described above. In step 640, “no cover open”, which means no opening / closing state, is recorded in the NVRAM 64, and the process proceeds to step 645. Here, the normal end flag or the like is recorded first, but no cover open may be recorded first, or both may be recorded simultaneously.

  In step 645, a power OFF operation is performed, and in step 650, this process is terminated. Thus, by recording that there is no cover open, it is possible to detect a cover opening / closing operation after the power is turned off. It should be noted that when the history is in the open / closed state, the fact that the cover is not open is recorded by writing to the NVRAM 64, and when the writing is completed, the printer is turned off. This process is executed by the SoC 65, and information on the state of the electronic device includes an error type, a normal end flag, a current main scanning position, a sensor type, and the like. Since the SoC 65 stores these pieces of information in the NVRAM 64, it also functions as a storage processing unit.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the process performed when the inkjet printer 10 is turned on will be described in detail. This process starts from step 700 when the power button of the printer is pressed. The following processing is also executed by the SoC 65. In step 705, the output of the cover open history sensor is confirmed. The cover open history sensor may be the upper cover open history sensor 67 or may include the upper cover open history sensor 67.

  In step 710, the information about the state at the time of the previous end recorded from the NVRAM 64 is read and copied to the RAM 62, and then the state is confirmed. The information here is information such as a normal end flag, the current main scanning position, and no cover open. In step 715, the information about the state at the previous end recorded in the NVRAM 64 is deleted. In step 720, an engine initial operation execution necessity table is generated as data for determining the necessity of execution for each operation executed in the initial operation. In step 725, the engine initial operation is performed while performing control to omit or postpone at least a part of the initial operation in accordance with the contents of the implementation necessity table. With the completion of the initial engine operation, the process is terminated at step 730.

  It should be noted that after the copying to the RAM 62 is completed, the information about the state at the previous end in the NVRAM 64 is deleted so that the normal end flag is not recorded in the case of a sudden shutdown due to a power failure or the like. is there.

  Here, if the content recorded in the NVRAM 64 or the output result of the cover open history sensor indicates the type of cover or the open / closed state, it is determined that there is a cover open history. In any case, it is necessary to execute the foreign object detection operation described above in the initial operation.

  The cover open may include not only the upper cover open but also an ink cover open. In order to detect the history of the ink cover opening, a detection mechanism similar to the history detection mechanism 68 can be employed. The history detection mechanism can be initialized by abutment of the carriage 14, but may be configured to be initialized by a solenoid or the like.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a table indicating whether or not the engine initial operation is required. Examples of the history include upper cover open history, power plug insertion / removal, error history recorded in NVRAM 64, ink cover open history, and transport belt movement. Whether or not all initial operations are to be executed, and if not to be executed, information indicating which operations are executed and which operations are omitted is input. Examples of the initial operation include a capping release operation, a main scanning position positioning operation, a jam detection operation, a foreign matter detection operation, a sub-tank abnormality detection operation, and a capping operation.

  This implementation necessity table is generated by the SoC 65 according to the above correspondence based on the history acquired through the sensor I / F 59 and the information copied from the NVRAM 64 to the RAM 62. For this reason, the SoC 65 also functions as data generation means.

  The table of FIG. 8 will be briefly explained. Regarding the error history recorded in the NVRAM 64, the power plug is inserted and removed, and if they are detected, it is decided to carry out all initial operations regardless of the remaining three. Yes. In addition, when two of the upper cover open history and the ink cover open history, or three of them, and the movement of the conveyor belt, are detected, it is determined to perform all initial operations. Other than that, necessity of each operation is determined. An operation described as unnecessary means that the operation can be omitted or deferred.

  Here, the positioning operation of the main scanning position may be omitted. However, every time the printer power is turned ON / OFF, a deviation of several dots may occur, and if this is accumulated, a misalignment may occur until capping is impossible. In order to prevent this, the position can be corrected using the standby time. In addition, when a print job occurs immediately after the power is turned on, the user convenience can be improved by giving priority to the print job.

  The engine initial operation is executed according to the implementation necessity table shown in FIG. The implementation necessity table can be easily changed by preparing a reserve area so that it can be easily changed. An example will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed when the engine initial operation is executed.

  This process is started from step 900 when the power button of the printer is pressed. In step 905, it is determined whether or not to perform the capping release operation with reference to the implementation necessity table. If not, the process proceeds directly to step 920. If it is performed, the process proceeds to step 915 to perform the capping release operation. After executing the capping release operation, the process proceeds to step 920.

  Next, in step 920, it is determined whether or not the main scanning position positioning operation is to be performed by referring to the execution necessity table. When not implementing, it progresses to step 920, the main scanning position currently recorded on NVRAM64 is acquired, and the main scanning position is set. In the case of implementation, the process proceeds to step 925, and positioning operation for the main scanning position is performed. After the setting or execution of the operation, the process proceeds to step 930.

  In step 930, it is determined whether or not a jam detection operation is to be performed with reference to the implementation necessity table. If not, the process proceeds directly to step 940. If it is performed, the process proceeds to step 935 and a jam detection operation is performed. In step 935, it is determined whether or not the occurrence of a jam has been detected. If not detected, the process proceeds to step 940. If detected, the process proceeds to step 985.

  In step 940, it is determined whether or not the foreign object detection operation is to be performed with reference to the execution necessity table. If not implemented, the process proceeds directly to step 950. If implemented, the process proceeds to step 945 to perform a foreign object detection operation. In the foreign object detection operation, it is determined whether or not a foreign object is detected within the movement range of the carriage 14. If a foreign object is not detected, the process proceeds to step 950. If a foreign object is detected, the process proceeds to step 950.

  In step 950, it is determined whether or not an abnormality detection operation in the sub tank 17 is to be performed with reference to the execution necessity table. If not implemented, the process proceeds directly to step 960. If implemented, the process proceeds to step 955, and an abnormality detection operation in the sub tank 17 is performed. In this abnormality detection operation, it is determined whether an abnormality in the sub tank 17 has been detected. If an abnormality is detected, the process proceeds to step 965. If not detected, the process proceeds to step 975.

  In step 960, it is determined whether or not the capping operation is performed with reference to the execution necessity table. When not implementing, it progresses to step 980 and complete | finishes this process. If so, the process proceeds to step 975 to perform a capping operation, and in step 980, the process is terminated. Similarly, when no abnormality in the sub-tank 17 is detected, a capping operation is performed in step 975, and this process is terminated in step 980.

  If an abnormality is detected in step 955, the recovery operation described above is performed in step 965. In step 970, it is determined whether or not the abnormality in the sub-tank 17 has been eliminated by the recovery operation and has been recovered. If it has been recovered, the process proceeds to step 975 where a capping operation is performed, and in step 980, the process ends. If the process ends in step 980, the process ends normally.

  If the occurrence of a jam is detected in step 935, if a foreign object is detected in step 945, or if it is not recovered in step 970, an error display is made to prompt the user in step 985. Thereafter, a capping operation is performed in step 990, and this process is terminated in step 995. If the process ends in step 995, the process ends abnormally.

  When the upper cover open history sensor 67 detects the opening and closing of the upper cover, foreign matter may be placed on the transport belt 33, so that the foreign matter detection operation is performed. At this time, the carriage 14 is abutted against the end of the printer casing in order to make the history unopened / closed. In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the member 70 included in the history detection mechanism 68 as the upper cover open history sensor 67 is interposed, and therefore, the member abuts against the member 70. After being abutted, detection is performed by the upper cover open history sensor 67, and the detected value is a value indicating that the upper cover is not opened or closed corresponding to the original state before the member 70 is changed. Check. Thereby, the time to restore the history when the power is turned off can be omitted.

  At this time, if the upper cover open history sensor 67 is normal, a value indicating no opening / closing is always detected, but it may not function normally due to some trouble. In this case, it is necessary to notify the user of the abnormality and prompt repair or the like. Processing performed for this purpose will be described with reference to FIG.

  Since the upper cover is opened and then closed, the upper cover sensor 66 starts this process from step 1000 when the upper cover sensor 66 detects that the upper cover is closed when the power is turned on. In step 1005, a foreign object detection operation is performed. In order to execute the foreign object detection operation, the SoC 65 instructs the engine control unit 60 to move the carriage 14 in the main scanning direction and detect whether or not it collides with the foreign object. Then, the carriage 14 is abutted against the end of the printer casing in order to bring the upper cover open history sensor 67 into the open / closed state.

  Thereafter, in step 1010, the SoC 65 acquires a value detected by the upper cover open history sensor 67 via the sensor I / F 59, and confirms whether the history is in an open / closed state from the value. If it is not open / closed, the process proceeds to step 1020 and the process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step 1010 that there is no open / closed state, the process proceeds to step 1015, where it is considered that the upper cover open history sensor 67 is not functioning normally due to some malfunction, so the SoC 65 functions as a notification means. Then, the user is notified of the abnormality and urged to repair it. Then, the process proceeds to step 1020, and this process ends.

  In this way, by reducing the number of operations to be executed in the initial operation when the power is turned on, the user's operation can be accepted earlier, and when the electronic device is a printer, the time until the first print output can be shortened. . As a result, convenience in a use case expressing a system such as a power-off is increased except during use, and the concept of normally-off can be expanded. Here, “normally off” refers to positively shutting off power supplies other than the components that should operate truly. Thus, if an unnecessary power supply can be cut off, the energy saving effect can be enhanced.

  Further, by using the history, it is possible to determine whether or not an operation to be executed in the initial operation is necessary with high accuracy, and to simplify the initial operation more safely. For example, since the foreign object detection operation can be omitted by detecting the history that the upper cover is not opened / closed, the startup time can be reduced by about 1 to 2 seconds. Furthermore, the processing time can be shortened by combining the operation for initializing the history with the scanning of the carriage 14, for example.

  The present invention has been described with the above-described embodiment as an electronic device and a control method thereof, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments, additions, changes, It can be changed within a range that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, such as deletion, and any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited.

  Therefore, it can also be configured as a computer-readable program for executing the control method, and by mounting this program and executing the installed program, a printer, MFP, or the like can function as the electronic apparatus of the present invention. Can do. In addition, this program can be provided by being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or SD card, or stored in a server or the like connected to a network so as to be connected to the network. It is also possible to provide it in response to a download request from another device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet printer, 11 ... Frame, 11a, 11b ... Side plate, 11c ... Rear plate, 12 ... Guide rod, 13 ... Stay, 14 ... Carriage, 15 ... Recording head, 16 ... Harness, 17 ... Sub tank, 18 ... Ink supply Tube, 19 ... Ink cartridge, 20 ... Cartridge loading section, 21 ... Supply pump unit, 22 ... Locking member, 23 ... Paper, 24 ... Paper stacking section, 25 ... Paper feed tray, 26 ... Paper feed roller, 27 ... Separation 28, guide member, 29 ... counter roller, 30 ... conveyance guide member, 31 ... tip pressure roller, 32 ... pressing member, 33 ... conveyance belt, 34 ... conveyance roller, 35 ... tension roller, 36 ... charging roller, 37 ... Guide member, 38 ... Separation claw, 39 ... Discharge roller, 40 ... Discharge roller, 41 ... Discharge tray, 42 ... Double-sided unit , 43 ... Manual feed tray, 44 ... Maintenance and recovery mechanism, 45, 45a to 45d ... Cap, 46 ... Wiper blade, 47, 48 ... Empty discharge receptacle, 49 ... Opening, 50 ... PC, 51 ... Controller board, 52 ... PSU, 53 ... Operation unit, 54 ... Motor, 55 ... Various sensors, 56 ... Host I / F, 57 ... Power supply circuit, 58 ... Operation unit I / F, 59 ... Sensor I / F, 60 ... Engine control unit, 61 ... Image output unit 62 ... RAM, 63 ... ROM, 64 ... NVRAM, 65 ... SoC, 66 ... upper cover sensor, 67 ... upper cover open history sensor, 68 ... history detection mechanism, 69 ... fulcrum, 70 ... member, 71 ... History detection sensor 72 ... upper cover 73 ... member

JP 2009-279889 A

Claims (10)

An electronic device that performs initial operation upon power-on,
History holding means for holding one or more members whose states change when one or more designated operations are performed in the electronic device, and holding the states of the members as the history of the operations;
A history detection means for detecting a history of each of the operations held in response to the power-on;
And an electronic device including control means for performing control to omit or postpone at least a part of the initial operation in accordance with each detected history.   The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising: a storage unit referred to by the control unit during the control; and a storage processing unit that stores information related to the state of the electronic device in the storage unit when the power is turned off. .   Data generation means for generating data for determining whether or not to perform each operation executed in the initial operation using each detected history and the information stored in the storage means The electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising:   The electronic device is a printer, and the designated operation is opening / closing of an upper cover, and the control means indicates that the initial operation is performed when the detected history indicates that the upper cover is not opened / closed. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an implementation of a foreign matter detection operation for detecting a foreign matter that is one of the above is omitted.   The printer is configured to perform printing by moving a carriage mounted with a recording head for discharging recording liquid in the main scanning direction, and based on the changed state of the member by moving the carriage in the main scanning direction. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the electronic device can be returned to the state.   When the history detected by the history detection means does not indicate that the upper cover corresponding to the original state has not been opened / closed after the carriage moves in the main scanning direction, the history holding means and The electronic device according to claim 5, further comprising notification means for notifying that at least one of the history detection means is abnormal. A control method executed by an electronic device that performs initial operation upon power-on,
Holding the state of each member as a history of each operation by history holding means comprising one or more members that change state when one or more specified operations are performed in the electronic device;
Receiving the power-on, and detecting a history of each of the operations by history detection means;
And a step of performing control to omit or postpone at least a part of the initial operation according to each detected history by the control means.   The electronic device includes a storage unit that is referred to by the control unit during the control, and the method further includes a step of storing information on the state of the electronic device in the storage unit when the power is turned off. The control method according to claim 7.   Data for determining whether or not it is necessary to implement each operation executed in the initial operation using each history detected by the data generation unit and the information stored in the storage unit. The control method according to claim 8, further comprising a generating step.   The computer-readable program for performing the control method of any one of Claims 7-9.