Recording device, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a recording device capable of driving stored power which can reduce an influence on recording at the time of subsequent start-up even when power supply from outside is stopped.SOLUTION: A recording device includes: connection means connected to an external power source; power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source through the connection means; recording means for discharging ink to a recording medium conveyed by conveyance means, and performing recording on the recording medium; recovery means for executing recovery operation of maintaining and recovering ink discharge characteristics in the recording means; and control means for executing the recovery operation according to a power storage amount of the power storage means, when supply of power from the external power source is stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As a recording device that records by ejecting ink from a recording head, in order to accommodate outdoor use and other applications, a portable recording device has been proposed that operates by receiving power from an external device via an interface cable such as a USB cable.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which power supplied from an external power source via a USB cable is stored in a power storage unit when a sequence is to be executed, and then the stored power is used to execute the sequence. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-205945 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in such a recording device, the user may disconnect the interface cable from the recording device when moving the recording device, etc. Also, the interface cable may be disconnected at a time unintended by the user. Therefore, depending on the timing of disconnecting the USB cable, there is a risk that various effects may occur on recording the next time the recording device is started and recording is performed.

[0006] Specifically, after a printing operation, capping is performed to protect the nozzle surface, and maintenance processing is performed to maintain and recover the ink ejection characteristics from the nozzles. However, if the interface cable is immediately removed after the paper ejection process, which allows the user to recognize that a printing operation is in progress, capping and charging for the maintenance processing performed after the paper ejection process cannot be performed, and these processes cannot be performed. This could result in a deterioration of the ink ejection characteristics of the print head.

[0007] Furthermore, if the interface cable is removed during a recording operation, the recording device will enter an indefinite state in which the positions of the various components in the recording device and the position of the recording medium will differ depending on the timing of removal. For this reason, the recording device will need to execute an initialization process to recover from the indefinite state the next time it is started, and it will take time to become ready for recording.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology in a recording device that can be driven by stored power, which can reduce the impact on recording at the next startup even if power is no longer supplied from the outside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one embodiment of a recording device according to the present invention is characterized in having a connection means for connecting to an external power source, a storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means, a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium transported by a transport means to record, a recovery means for performing a recovery operation to maintain and recover the ejection characteristics of the ink in the recording means, and a control means for performing the recovery operation in accordance with the amount of power stored in the storage means when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, in a recording device that can be driven by stored power, even if power supply from an external source is cut off, it is possible to reduce the effect on recording at the next startup. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the printing apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a power supply system of the printing apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] 6 is a flowchart showing detailed processing contents of a control process. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the process contents of a control process executed in a second embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing the process contents of a control process executed in a third embodiment. [Figure 8] 8 is a flowchart of a post-discharge process which is a subroutine of the control process in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] A table showing information about maintenance operations. [Figure 10] A table showing the power supply for each connection standard. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus 10. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conveyance system of the recording apparatus 10. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing the process contents of a control process executed in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a table showing pre-shutdown operations and startup operations according to device states. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of post-boot processing. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an indefinite state. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing the process contents of a control process executed in a fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a recording device, a control method, and a program will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiment does not limit the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the present embodiment are essential to the solution of the present invention. Furthermore, the positions, shapes, and the like of the components described in the embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention to only those.

[0013] (First embodiment) First, a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0014] <Recording System> 1 is a schematic diagram showing a recording system including a recording device according to the present embodiment. A recording system 12 including a recording device 10 according to the present embodiment includes the recording device 10 that ejects ink to record, and a PC terminal 16 as an external device connected to the recording device 10 via a local area network 14. The recording system 12 includes a wireless LAN access point 18, and the recording device 10 can be connected to the local area network 14 by wirelessly connecting to the wireless LAN access point 18. The recording system 12 also includes a router 22 for connecting the local area network 14 to the Internet 20, and a cloud server 24 connected to the Internet 20. This allows the recording device 10 and the PC terminal 16 to communicate with the cloud server 24 connected to the Internet 20 via the router 22.

[0015] The recording device 10 is provided with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 214 (see FIG. 2) and is configured to be connectable to various devices. In this embodiment, the recording device 10 is provided with the USB interface 214 into which a USB cable can be inserted and is connectable to the PC terminal 16 via a USB cable 28. This allows the recording device 10 to operate using power supplied from the PC terminal 16 via the USB cable. Thus, in this embodiment, the USB interface 214 functions as a connection section for connecting to an external power source.

[0016] In addition, in the recording system 12, it is also possible to use a smartphone 30 as an external device. In this case, the smartphone 30 and the recording device 10 are connected via a USB cable 32, and the recording device 10 can operate with power supplied from the smartphone 30. Furthermore, in the recording system 12, the recording device 10 and a USB power adapter 34 are connected via a USB cable 36, and the recording device 10 can operate with power supplied from a commercial power source. Although not shown in the figure, the recording device 10 may be connected to a mobile battery via a USB cable and can operate with power supplied from the mobile battery.

[0017] A wireless LAN infrastructure mode connection 38 is used between the smartphone 30 and the recording device 10 and the wireless LAN access point 18. The recording device 10 has a mode in which it operates as a wireless LAN access point. When the recording device 10 operates as an access point, the smartphone 30 can directly connect (direct connection 40) to the recording device 10. The smartphone 30 can also connect to a cloud server 24 connected to the Internet 20 via a mobile phone network 42.

[0018] When the recording device 10, the PC terminal 16, and the smartphone 30 are connected by a USB cable, data communication between the recording device 10, the PC terminal 16, and the smartphone 30 can use a USB interface, but is not limited to this. The recording device 10 operates with power supplied from the PC terminal 16 and the smartphone 30 connected by a USB cable, and data communication can also be performed using wireless LAN or short-distance wireless communication. The recording system 12 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a recording system equipped with the recording device 10 according to this embodiment, and may have a different configuration from that shown in FIG. 1. For example, instead of the wireless LAN access point 18 and the router 22, a single configuration equipped with these functions, for example, a router equipped with an access point function, may be used.

[0019] <Configuration of the control system of the recording device> Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the control system of the recording apparatus 10. FIG 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the recording apparatus 10.

[0020] The recording device 10 includes a main board 202 that performs overall control of the recording device 10, a reading unit 204 that reads an original, a recording unit 206 that records on a recording medium, and an operation panel 208 that can be operated by a user. The recording device 10 also includes a wireless LAN unit 210 for connecting to a wireless LAN, a short-range wireless communication unit 212 for performing short-range wireless communication, and a USB interface 214 that can be connected to a USB cable.

[0021] The main board 202 includes a CPU 216 in the form of a microprocessor, a program memory 218 in the form of a ROM, a data memory 220 in the form of a RAM, and a non-volatile memory 222 capable of retaining stored information even without the supply of power. The main board 202 also includes a reading section control circuit 224 for controlling the reading section 204, a recording section control circuit 226 for controlling the recording section 206, and an operation section control circuit 228 for controlling the operation panel 208. The main board 202 also includes a wireless LAN communication control circuit 230 for controlling the wireless LAN unit 210, and a short-range wireless communication control circuit 232 for controlling the short-range wireless communication unit 212. The main board 202 also includes a USB communication control circuit 234 for controlling the drive of the USB interface 214, and a power supply control circuit 236 for controlling the amount of power supplied from the USB interface 214. The components provided on the main board 202 are connected to each other via an internal bus 238.

[0022] The CPU 216 operates based on the control program stored in the program memory 218 and the information held in the data memory 220, using the data memory 220 as a work area. Furthermore, by writing various setting values, data, and the like to the non-volatile memory 222, the CPU 216 can continue to operate based on the setting values ​​and data written to the non-volatile memory 222 when the power is turned ON again after being turned OFF. As the non-volatile memory 222, for example, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory can be used.

[0023] The CPU 216 controls the reading unit 204 via the reading unit control circuit 224 to read an original document and store the read data as image data in the data memory 220. The CPU 216 also controls the recording unit 206 via the recording unit control circuit 226 to record the image data stored in the data memory 220 on a recording medium based on the recording data obtained by image processing the image data. Furthermore, the CPU 216 controls the operation unit control circuit 228 to display the status of the recording device 10 on the operation panel 208, display a menu of selectable functions, and accept operations from the user.

[0024] The CPU 216 controls the wireless LAN unit 210 via the wireless LAN communication control circuit 230 to perform wireless LAN communication with other communication terminal devices. The CPU 216 also controls the short-distance wireless communication unit 212 via the short-distance wireless communication control circuit 232 to detect connection with other short-distance wireless communication terminals and to transmit and receive data to and from other short-distance wireless communication terminals. The CPU 216 also operates the USB interface 214 via the USB communication control circuit 234 to perform USB communication with other terminal devices (external devices) connected via a USB cable, and detects insertion and removal of the USB cable. The CPU 216 also controls the power supply control circuit 236 to grasp and control the amount of power supplied from the USB interface 214 and the amount of power stored in the power supply control circuit 236. Insertion and removal of the USB cable may be detected via the power supply control circuit 236.

[0025] <Configuration of the power supply system of the recording device> Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the power supply system of the recording apparatus 10. FIG 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power supply system of the recording apparatus 10.

[0026] The power supply control circuit 236 includes an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) 302 capable of storing and supplying electricity, and a Charger IC 304 that controls the input current. The power supply control circuit 236 also includes a DC-DC (boost) 306 that is a boost circuit for boosting the voltage from the Charger IC 304, and a DC-DC (step-down) 308 that is a step-down circuit for stepping down the voltage output from the DC-DC 306. The power supply control circuit 236 also includes a Motor Driver 310 that drives the motors in the reading unit 204 and the recording unit 206, and a Head Driver 312 that drives the reading head (not shown) and the recording head 404 (see FIG. 4).

[0027] The recording device 10 is connected to the power supply V BAT The recording device 10 is configured to be driven by inputting the power supply voltage VBUS to the Charger IC 304, and the power supply is controlled by the power supply system via the Charger IC 304. That is, the recording device 10 is configured to operate with the power supplied from the EDLC 302. Specifically, the Charger IC 304 charges the EDLC 302 with a current supplied by the power supply VBUS from the USB interface 214. At the same time, the Charger IC 304 outputs the power supplied from the EDLC 302 to the DC-DC (boosting) 306. The voltage boosted by the DC-DC 306 is used by the Motor Driver 310 to drive the motors of the reading unit 204 and the recording unit 206. The voltage boosted by the DC-DC 306 is also used by the Head Driver 312 to drive the reading head of the reading unit 204 and the recording head 404 of the recording unit 206. In the power supply control circuit 236, the voltage boosted by the DC-DC 306 is used to drive a relatively large load. Furthermore, the power boosted by the DC-DC 306 is input to the DC-DC 308, which generates logic power supply voltages used by the ASIC 314, ROM 316, and DDR 318. The ASIC 314 is a custom IC that includes the CPU 216 and peripheral circuits.

[0028] The charger IC 304 is an IC having a function of controlling an input current from the USB interface 214, and controlling charging of the EDLC 302 and protecting it from abnormal operation. The charger IC 304 is capable of communicating with the ASIC 314 connected via a control serial bus 320. The control serial bus 320 constitutes a part of the internal bus 238. In this embodiment, communication between the charger IC 304 and the ASIC 314 is performed by a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) method.

[0029] The Charger IC 304 judges the input current according to the external device (PC terminal 16, smartphone 30, etc.) that supplies the current. In this embodiment, for example, the judgment is made according to the USB-BC (USB Battery Charge) standard (BC judgment) and the USB-PD (USB Power Delivery) standard (CC judgment). The ASIC 314 receives the results of the BC judgment and the CC judgment from the Charger IC 304, and determines thresholds for the charging current, full charge, over-discharge voltage, etc. of the Charger IC 304, and sets the thresholds in the Charger IC 304.

[0030] The EDLC302 is an electric double layer capacitor, which is controlled by the ChargerIC304 under the command of the ASIC314 and also supplies the power V BAT In the recording device 10, for example, when the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 falls below a certain value, the EDLC 302 is charged with power supplied from an external device connected via a USB interface. In this embodiment, power is supplied from a PC terminal 16, a smartphone 30, a USB power adapter 34, or a mobile battery (not shown) that is connected to the recording device 10 as an external device. Specifically, the power supply V of the EDLC 302 BATThe voltage can be transmitted from the Charger IC 304 to the ASIC 314. For example, when the recording device 10 is in a recording operation, the power supply of the EDLC 302 BAT When the voltage drops, the ASIC314 stops recording and the power supply V BAT The ChargerIC 304 is instructed to control charging until the voltage reaches a certain threshold. Then, the ASIC 314 controls the power supply V BAT The recording operation is resumed when a notification that the voltage has reached a certain threshold is received from the charger IC 304. In this manner, in this embodiment, the charger IC 304 and the EDLC 302 function as a power storage unit that stores the power supplied from the external power source.

[0031] <Configuration of the recording unit in the recording device> Next, the configuration of the recording unit 206 in the recording device 10 will be described. Note that the reading unit 204 of the recording device 10 can have various known configurations, so the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the recording unit 206.

[0032] The recording unit 206 includes a transport unit 402 that transports the recording medium M in the Y direction, and a recording head 404 that ejects ink onto the recording medium M transported by the transport unit 402 to perform recording. The recording unit 206 also includes a carriage 406 on which the recording head 404 is mounted and which is movable in a direction (X direction) that intersects (orthogonal in this embodiment) with the transport direction (Y direction) of the recording medium M transported by the transport unit 402. The recording device 10 also includes a maintenance unit (recovery unit) 408 that is capable of executing a maintenance process (also referred to as a recovery operation) for maintaining and recovering favorable ink ejection performance of the nozzles that eject ink in the recording head 404.

[0033] The recording head 404 is configured to be capable of ejecting a plurality of different types of ink. A plurality of nozzles ejecting each ink are arranged in parallel along a direction intersecting the X direction to form a nozzle row. In this embodiment, the recording head 404 is configured to be capable of ejecting four types of ink: black (K) ink, cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink. Note that the types and the number of inks ejected from the recording head 404 are not limited to those described above. The recording head 404 may also be configured to eject various types of liquid, such as a processing liquid that performs a predetermined process on the ejected ink.

[0034] The carriage 406 is slidably mounted on a guide shaft 410 extending in the X direction, and is connected to a carriage motor 414 via a belt 412. This allows the carriage 406 to move back and forth in the X direction by being driven by the carriage motor 414. Therefore, the recording head 404 mounted on the carriage 406 is configured to be able to move back and forth in the X direction via the carriage 406.

[0035] During a printing operation, a drive pulse is applied to the print head 404 while the carriage 406 is moving in the X direction, causing the print head 404 to eject ink onto the printing medium M, thereby performing one scan of printing on the printing surface Mp of the printing medium M. The carriage 406 is provided with a detection unit 416 capable of detecting the printing surface Mp of the printing medium M. This allows the printing device 10 to detect the printing surface Mp by the detection unit 416 while moving the carriage 406, and to monitor the printing results by the print head 404 on the printing surface Mp.

[0036] The conveying unit 402 includes a conveying roller 418 that conveys the recording medium M, and a conveying motor 420 that drives the conveying roller 418. In FIG. 4, the conveying roller 418 and the recording medium M are shown separated in the Z direction for ease of understanding, but in reality, the recording medium M and the conveying roller 418 are in contact in the Z direction. In the conveying unit 402, the conveying motor 420 is driven to convey the recording medium M in the Y direction by the conveying roller 418. When performing printing on the recording medium M based on a job, a printing operation is performed in which ink is ejected from the print head 404 to print one scan on the recording medium M conveyed to the printing start position by the conveying unit 402. Thereafter, a conveying operation is performed in which the recording medium M is conveyed by the conveying unit 402 by a predetermined amount, and then the recording operation is performed again. In this way, in the recording device 10, printing based on a job is performed on the recording medium by alternately and repeatedly executing the printing operation and the conveying operation.

[0037] The maintenance unit 408 is disposed within the movement area of ​​the carriage 406 in the X direction, but outside the area where the recording head 404 records on the recording medium M. The maintenance unit 408 includes a cap unit 422 that comes into contact with (caps) the recording head 404 to protect the nozzle surface 404a of the recording head 404. Although detailed description and illustration are omitted, the maintenance unit 408 includes various known maintenance members, such as a suction unit that performs suction to create a negative pressure inside the cap unit 422, and a wiper unit that wipes the nozzle surface 404a. The nozzle surface 404a is the surface of the recording head 404 that faces the recording surface Mp of the recording medium M being transported, and is the surface on which nozzles that eject ink are formed.

[0038] When capping with the cap unit 422, the recording head 404 is moved to a position (a standby position described later) where the nozzle surface 404a faces the cap unit 422 of the maintenance unit 408 (see the dashed line in FIG. 4), and then the cap unit 422 is raised. In this embodiment, the recording head 404 waits at a standby position where the nozzle surface 404a faces the cap unit 422 during timing when the recording operation is not performed. By performing capping after the end of recording based on a job, it is possible to protect the nozzle surface 404a and suppress the evaporation of the liquid component of the ink from the nozzle and the increase in viscosity of the ink in the nozzle due to the evaporation. Note that even if such capping is performed, the ink ejection performance from the nozzle is reduced. For this reason, the maintenance unit 408 executes a maintenance process for maintaining and recovering the ejection performance in a good condition, for example, based on an input from a user via the operation panel 208. In this embodiment, the maintenance unit 408 is configured to include a cap unit 422, but this is not limited to this, and the cap unit 422 may be provided separately from a maintenance unit that includes a suction unit, a wiper unit, etc.

[0039] <Control processing> In the above configuration, in the recording device 10, a control process for controlling the release and execution of capping of the recording head 404 is executed in parallel with a recording process for recording on the recording medium M based on a job. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the detailed processing contents of the control process. A series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 are performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 5 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit. In this specification, the symbol S in the description of each process in the flowchart means a step in that flowchart.

[0040] In the recording device 10, when an instruction to start the recording process is given, the control process is started. When the control process is started, first, in S502, the CPU 216 acquires the amount of power required for capping from the non-volatile memory 222. In this embodiment, data indicating the amount of power required for capping is stored in the non-volatile memory 222. The amount of power required for capping is the amount of power consumed when capping the recording head 404 with the cap unit 422. The amount of power required for capping may be set for each recording device 10, or may be measured and acquired when various settings of the recording device 10 are made.

[0041] Then, in S504, the CPU 216 releases the capping of the recording head 404 by the cap unit 422, that is, separates the cap unit 422 from the recording head 404. The recording process executed in parallel with the control process is started after the control means releases the capping of the recording head 404. Then, in S506, the CPU 216 determines whether the recording process has ended. The CPU 216 determines that the recording process has ended when the last recording in the recording process has ended. In addition, in the recording process, for example, the conveyance of the recording medium is stopped when the last recording has ended. In other words, when it is determined that the recording process has ended in S506, the recording medium M remains inside the recording device 10.

[0042] If it is determined in S506 that the recording process has not ended, the determination in S506 is performed again. If it is determined in S506 that the recording process has ended, the process proceeds to S508, where the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value. The predetermined value is an amount of power obtained by adding a certain amount of power to the amount of power required for capping acquired in S502. Here, the certain amount of power is, for example, an amount of power that is a sum of an amount of power required for paper discharge processing, which will be described later, and an amount of power required for preliminary ejection executed within a predetermined time (corresponding to a certain time in S520, which will be described later), or an amount of power that is a certain amount greater than the total amount of power. The certain amount of power is a value that is set in advance. Note that the amount of power required for paper discharge processing and preliminary ejection executed within a predetermined time may also be acquired in S502, and it may be determined in S508 whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached the amount of power required for capping, paper discharge processing, and preliminary ejection. The amount of stored power in the EDLC302 can be calculated by, for example, the power supply voltage V BAT The amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 is acquired based on the voltage. Note that the technology for acquiring the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 is not limited to this, and various known technologies can be used, such as providing a detection means capable of detecting the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302.

[0043] If it is determined in S508 that the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 has reached the predetermined value, the process proceeds to S512, which will be described later. If it is determined in S508 that the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 has not reached the predetermined value, the CPU 216 charges the EDLC 302 until the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 reaches the predetermined value, in S510. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S512, where a paper ejection process is executed to eject the recording medium M after recording. In this paper ejection process, the recording medium M remaining inside the recording device 10 is conveyed.

[0044] Next, in S514, the CPU 216 judges whether or not the USB cable has been removed. In this specification, "the USB cable has been removed" includes when the USB cable has been removed from the recording device 10 and when the USB cable connected to the recording device 10 has been removed from the external power source. That is, "the USB cable has been removed" means when the supply of power from the external power source has been stopped due to the USB cable being removed. Note that "the USB cable has been removed" may also include when the supply of power to the recording device 10 from the external power source connected via the USB cable has been stopped. Therefore, in S514, for example, the CPU 216 judges whether or not the USB cable for supplying power has been removed from the USB interface 214 via the USB communication control circuit 234 or the power supply control circuit 236. Also, in S514, for example, the CPU 216 checks the state of the input current control in the Charger IC 304 to judge whether or not the EDLC 302 is currently receiving power from the external power source. Therefore, if in the recording system 12, power is supplied to the recording device 10 from the USB power adapter 34 via the USB cable 36, in S514 it is determined whether the USB cable 36 has been removed from the USB interface 214.

[0045] If it is determined in S514 that the USB cable has been removed, the process proceeds to S522, which will be described later. If it is determined in S514 that the USB cable has not been removed, the process proceeds to S516, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not it is time to perform preliminary ejection. Note that the preliminary ejection is the ejection of ink from each nozzle that does not contribute to recording. The preliminary ejection is performed at predetermined time intervals, for example, every 30 seconds, after the paper ejection process of S512. Therefore, in S516, at the first determination after the start of the control process, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the end of the paper ejection process. Also, at S516, at the second or subsequent determination after the start of the control process, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous preliminary ejection. Note that when the paper ejection process is completed in S512, the CPU 216 starts counting the time, and the determination in S516 is performed based on this count value.

[0046] If it is determined in S516 that the timing for preliminary ejection has not arrived, the process proceeds to S520, which will be described later. If it is determined in S516 that the timing for preliminary ejection has arrived, the process proceeds to S518, in which the CPU 216 executes preliminary ejection. At this time, since the print head 404 has been moved to the standby position after the end of the printing process, the nozzle surface 404a is in a position facing the cap portion 422. Therefore, the preliminary ejected ink is ejected into the cap portion 422.

[0047] Thereafter, in S520, the CPU 216 judges whether a certain time has elapsed. In this embodiment, for example, it is judged whether a certain time has elapsed since the end of the paper discharge process in S512. Therefore, in S520, it is judged whether the count value that has been started in response to the process of S512 has reached a certain time. The certain time is, for example, 10 minutes, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0048] If it is determined in S520 that the fixed time has not elapsed, the process returns to S514. If it is determined in S520 that the fixed time has elapsed, the process proceeds to S522. In S522, the CPU 216 executes capping of the print head 404 at the standby position by the cap unit 422, and ends this control process. In this control process, before the paper discharge process is executed, the amount of power required for capping and a certain amount of power corresponding to the amount of power required for the paper discharge process and the preliminary ejection are charged. Therefore, when S522 is executed, at least the amount of power required for capping is stored in the EDLC 302. Therefore, in S522, the capping can be executed reliably using the power stored in the EDLC 302. In this manner, in this embodiment, the CPU 216 functions as a control unit that controls the execution of capping and the storage of power in the EDLC 302.

[0049] <Action and effect> As described above, in the recording device 10, even if the user unplugs the USB cable at any time after the paper ejection process, the amount of power that enables capping is stored before the paper ejection process, which allows the recording device to recognize that it is still in operation. As a result, in the recording device 10, when the user unplugs the USB cable, the amount of power that enables capping is secured, and capping of the recording head 404 is reliably performed. This prevents deterioration of the ink ejection performance of the recording head, and reduces the impact on recording at the next startup.

[0050] Second embodiment Next, a recording device according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment are used for the same or corresponding configurations as those in the recording device according to the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an amount of power sufficient to perform capping is stored in the EDLC 302 before the recording process is performed, even if the USB cable is unplugged after the paper discharge process is performed. The control process performed by the recording device 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0052] <Control processing> Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing detailed processing contents of the control processing executed by the recording device 10 according to the second embodiment. The series of processing shown in the flowchart in Fig. 6 is performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 6 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit.

[0053] When the control process is started, first, in S602, the CPU 216 acquires the amount of power required for capping and the amount of power required for recording. The amount of power required for capping is acquired from the non-volatile memory 222. The amount of power required for recording, that is, the amount of power consumed when performing recording, is calculated based on, for example, the job settings and recording data.

[0054] Then, in S604, the CPU 216 releases the capping of the print head 404 by the cap unit 422. After that, in S606, the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value. In this embodiment, the predetermined value is the amount of power obtained by adding a certain amount of power to the amount of power required for capping and the amount of power required for recording acquired in S602. Here, the certain amount of power is the total amount of power required for paper discharge processing, which will be described later, and the amount of power required for preliminary ejection executed within a predetermined time (corresponding to the certain time in S622, which will be described later), or an amount of power that is a certain amount greater than the total amount of power. The certain amount of power is a value that is set in advance. Note that in S602, the amount of power required for paper discharge processing and preliminary ejection within the predetermined time may also be acquired, and in S606, it may be determined whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached the amount of power required for capping, recording processing, paper discharge processing, and preliminary ejection.

[0055] If it is determined in S606 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value, the process proceeds to S610, which will be described later. If it is determined in S606 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has not reached the predetermined value, the CPU 216 charges the EDLC 302 until the amount of stored power reaches the predetermined value in S608. Then, the process proceeds to S610, where the CPU 216 permits the start of the recording process. In this embodiment, the recording process, which is executed in parallel with the control process, is started after permission is granted in the control process.

[0056] Next, in S612, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the recording process has ended. If it is determined in S612 that the recording process has not ended, the determination in S612 is performed again. If it is determined in S612 that the recording process has ended, the process proceeds to S614, where the CPU 216 performs paper discharge processing. Thereafter, in S616, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable has been unplugged. If it is determined in S616 that the USB cable has been unplugged, the process proceeds to S624, which will be described later. If it is determined in S616 that the USB cable has not been unplugged, the process proceeds to S618, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not it is time to perform preliminary ejection.

[0057] If it is determined in S618 that the timing for preliminary ejection has not arrived, the process proceeds to S622, which will be described later. If it is determined in S618 that the timing for preliminary ejection has arrived, the process proceeds to S620, where the CPU 216 executes preliminary ejection. Note that the print head 404 is moved to the standby position after the end of the printing process. Thereafter, in S622, the CPU 216 determines whether or not a certain period of time has elapsed. If it is determined in S622 that the certain period of time has not elapsed, the process returns to S616. If it is determined in S622 that the certain period of time has elapsed, the process proceeds to S624. In S624, the CPU 216 executes capping of the print head 404 at the standby position by the cap unit 422, and ends this control process. Note that the specific process contents from S616 to S624 are the same as those from S514 to S522 described above.

[0058] In this control process, before the recording process is performed, a certain amount of power corresponding to the amount of power required for the recording process and capping, and the amount of power required for the paper discharge process and preliminary ejection is charged. Therefore, when S624 is performed, at least the amount of power required for capping is stored in the EDLC 302. Therefore, in S624, capping can be reliably performed using the power stored in the EDLC 302.

[0059] <Action and effect> As described above, in this embodiment, before the recording process in which the user can recognize that the recording device is still in operation, even if the USB cable is unplugged at any time after the paper ejection process, the amount of power that enables capping is stored. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as in the first embodiment.

[0060] Third embodiment Next, a recording device according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 9. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those described in the first embodiment are used for configurations that are the same as or equivalent to those of the recording device according to the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0061] The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, even if the USB cable is unplugged after the paper ejection process is performed, the maintenance process is performed according to the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302. That is, in the third embodiment, the recording device 10 performs a control process for controlling the capping of the print head 404 and the execution of the maintenance process in parallel with the recording process. The control process performed by the recording device 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0062] <Control processing> Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed processing contents of the control processing executed by the recording device 10 according to the third embodiment. The series of processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 7 is performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 7 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit. Note that when the control processing of Fig. 7 is executed, the recording device 10 is in a state in which power can be supplied via a USB cable.

[0063] When the control process is started, first, in S702, the CPU 216 acquires the amount of power required for capping. Then, in S704, the CPU 216 releases the capping of the print head 404 by the cap unit 422. The specific process contents of S702 and S704 are the same as those of S502 and S504 described above, and therefore will not be described.

[0064] Thereafter, in S706, the CPU 216 judges whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value. In this embodiment, the predetermined value includes the power required for capping acquired in S702, the power required for recording processing, and the power required for paper discharge processing, which will be described later. The predetermined value may be a value obtained by adding a certain amount of power to the total value of these powers. The power required for recording processing is acquired based on the job settings and recording data, using the maximum amount of power per page, the amount of power per size of the recording medium, and the like, stored in the non-volatile memory 222 or the program memory 218. That is, in S706, the CPU 216 calculates the predetermined value, and compares the calculated predetermined value with the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 at the present time to make the judgment.

[0065] If it is determined in S706 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached the predetermined value, the process proceeds to S710, which will be described later. If it is determined in S706 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has not reached the predetermined value, the CPU 216 charges the EDLC 302 until the amount of stored power reaches the predetermined value in S708. Then, the process proceeds to S710, where the CPU 216 permits the start of the recording process. In this embodiment, the recording process, which is executed in parallel with this control process, is started after the permission in S710.

[0066] Next, in S712, the CPU 216 judges whether the recording process has ended. If it is judged in S712 that the recording process has not ended, the judgment in S712 is performed again. If it is judged in S712 that the recording process has ended, the process proceeds to S714, where the CPU 216 performs paper ejection processing. That is, in S714, the recorded recording medium currently located in the recording device 10 is ejected to the outside.

[0067] When the paper discharge process is completed, the process proceeds to S716, where the CPU 216 executes a paper discharge post-processing. The paper discharge post-processing is a process that includes a maintenance process for the print head 404, and will be described in detail later. Thereafter, in S718, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable has been removed. The specific process content of S718 is the same as that of S514 described above, and therefore will not be described here.

[0068] If it is determined in S718 that the USB cable has been removed, this control process ends. If it is determined in S718 that the USB cable has not been removed, the process proceeds to S720, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not the next job exists. If it is determined in S720 that the next job exists, the process returns to S706. If it is determined in S720 that the next job does not exist, the process proceeds to S722, where the CPU 216 caps the print head 404 in the standby position with the cap unit 422, and ends this control process.

[0069] <Post-discharge processing> Next, the post-paper discharge process executed in the control process will be described. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the process contents of the post-paper discharge process, which is a subroutine of the process routine of the control process. The series of processes shown in the flowchart in Fig. 8 are performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 8 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit.

[0070] When the post-paper ejection process is started, first, in S802, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable has been unplugged. In S802, as in S514, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable for supplying power has been unplugged from the USB interface via the USB communication control circuit 234 or the power supply control circuit 236. Alternatively, the CPU 216 checks the state of the input current control in the charger IC 304 and determines whether or not the EDLC 302 is currently receiving power supply from an external device or the like. In this case, if it is determined that no power is being supplied, it is determined that the USB cable has been unplugged, and if it is determined that power is being supplied, it is determined that the USB cable has not been unplugged.

[0071] If it is determined in S802 that the USB cable has not been removed, the process proceeds to S804, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not maintenance processing is required. Specifically, in S804, it is determined whether or not maintenance processing is required after the ejection process, and if it is determined that maintenance processing is required, the type of maintenance processing that can be performed is acquired. In this embodiment, a table 900 indicating information regarding the maintenance processing to be performed is held in the non-volatile memory 222 or the program memory 218. In S804, the CPU 216 uses this table 900 to determine whether or not maintenance processing is required, and determines the maintenance processing to be performed. FIG. 9 is a table indicating information regarding the maintenance processing to be performed.

[0072] In table 900, the first flag is associated with the first maintenance process which has the highest restoration strength indicating the maintenance effect, i.e., the effect of restoring the ejection characteristics. The power required for the first maintenance process is 7 W. The specific process content of the first maintenance process is 20 times of wiping process (wiping operation) for wiping the nozzle surface, and 10 times of suction process (suction operation) for discharging ink from the nozzles by reduced pressure suction using the cap portion 422.

[0073] Moreover, in the table 900, a second maintenance process having a medium recovery strength is associated as a second flag. The required power amount for the second maintenance process is 5 W. The specific process contents of the second maintenance process are 10 times of wiping process and 5 times of suction process. Furthermore, in the table 900, a third maintenance process having the lowest recovery strength is associated as a third flag. The required power amount for the third maintenance process is 3 W. The specific process contents of the third maintenance process are 2 times of wiping process and 3 times of suction process. In this way, in the table 900, the recovery strength is varied by changing the number of times the suction process and wiping process are performed.

[0074] The amount of power required for each maintenance process is calculated from the amount of operation of the components and the process content. For example, in this embodiment, the amount of power required for one suction process or wiping process is integrated to obtain the amount of power required for the maintenance process. In the table 900, information on the maintenance process to be performed is set in three stages according to the recovery strength, but this is not limited to this, and it may be set in two stages or four or more stages. In addition, the specific process content of the maintenance process is not limited to only the wiping process and the suction process, and various known maintenance processes may be used.

[0075] Using such a table 900, in S804, first, it is determined whether or not to turn on the flag depending on the state of the recording head 404 based on the number of ejections in the most recently executed recording process and the elapsed time since the most recently executed recording process. If the flag is not turned on, the flag remains OFF. For example, when the number of ejections exceeds a first value, the first flag is turned ON to execute a first maintenance process with the strongest recovery strength. When the number of ejections is between the first value and a second value smaller than the first value, the second flag is turned ON to execute a second maintenance process with a medium recovery strength. Furthermore, when the number of ejections is smaller than the second value, the third flag is turned ON to execute a third maintenance process with the lowest recovery strength. The ON or OFF of each flag may be determined by combining multiple conditions. Also, only one flag may be turned ON among the flags, or multiple flags may be turned ON.

[0076] Furthermore, in S804, the ON or OFF state of the determined flag is stored in the non-volatile memory 222. Then, in S804, the CPU 216 determines that maintenance processing is necessary if any flag is ON, and determines that maintenance processing is not necessary if no flag is ON. Furthermore, in S804, if it is determined that maintenance processing is necessary, the maintenance processing corresponding to the flag with the highest recovery strength among the flags that are ON is selected as the maintenance processing to be executed.

[0077] If it is determined in S804 that the maintenance process is not necessary, the process proceeds to S718 of the control process. If it is determined in S804 that the maintenance process is necessary, the process proceeds to S806, where the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 has reached a first amount of electricity at which the maintenance process can be executed. That is, in S806, the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of electricity required for the maintenance process determined in S804. For example, if the first maintenance process is determined in S804, it is determined in S806 whether the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of electricity required for the first maintenance process, which is 7 W. If it is determined in S806 that the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of electricity required for the maintenance process, the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is determined to have reached the first amount of electricity. If it is determined that the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is less than the amount of electricity required for the maintenance process, the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 is determined to have not reached the first amount of electricity.

[0078] If it is determined in S806 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has reached the first power amount, the process proceeds to S810, which will be described later. If it is determined in S806 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 has not reached the first power amount, the process proceeds to S808, where the EDLC 302 is charged until the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 reaches the first power amount. Then, in S810, the CPU 216 executes the maintenance process determined in S804, and the process proceeds to S718 in the control process. Note that in S810, after executing the maintenance process, the CPU 216 initializes each flag stored in the non-volatile memory 222, that is, sets them to OFF.

[0079] Here, the maintenance processes executed in this embodiment will be described. The suction process is a process in which, with the print head 404 capped, a suction unit connected to the cap unit 422 is driven to generate negative pressure within the cap unit 422, forcibly suctioning and discharging thickened ink, air bubbles, and foreign matter from the nozzles. The wiping process is a process in which foreign matter such as ink and paper powder adhering to the nozzle surface 404a of the print head 404 is wiped off by a wiper.

[0080] In this embodiment, such maintenance processing is executed after the paper discharge processing, but is not limited to this. For example, the maintenance processing may be executed at various known timings at which the maintenance processing can be executed other than after the paper discharge processing, such as before the start of the recording processing, when the elapsed time from the previous recording processing exceeds a predetermined time, when the soft-on is performed after an abnormal end, or when instructed by the user.

[0081] In this embodiment, the maintenance process is executed as a post-paper discharge process that is executed after the paper discharge process. This has the advantage that, for example, maintenance processes that are executed during soft-on or before the execution of a recording process can be executed ahead of schedule. In other words, by executing the maintenance process after the paper discharge process, the user does not have to wait when starting the next recording process or when soft-on, and subsequent processes can be executed efficiently.

[0082] On the other hand, if it is determined in S802 that the USB cable has been unplugged, the process proceeds to S812, where the CPU 216 acquires the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302. Then, in S814, the CPU 216 determines whether capping and maintenance processing can be performed, that is, whether enough power has been stored to perform capping and maintenance processing. As described above, in the recording device 10, the non-volatile memory 222 stores executable maintenance processing and the amount of power required for the maintenance processing (see FIG. 9). In addition, in the recording device 10, the non-volatile memory 222 also stores the amount of power required for capping.

[0083] Therefore, in S814, first, the amount of power required for capping is subtracted from the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 acquired in S812 to calculate the amount of power available for the maintenance process. Here, if the calculated value is equal to or less than 0, it is determined that the power required for performing the capping and maintenance processes is not stored. Also, if the calculated value is greater than 0, the value is compared with the amount of power required for the maintenance process. In this embodiment, the value is compared with "3" required for performing the first maintenance process, "5" required for performing the second maintenance process, and "7" required for performing the third maintenance process. As a result of the comparison, if the calculated value is greater than at least one of the amounts of power required for performing the multiple maintenance processes, it is determined that the power required for performing the capping and maintenance processes is stored. Also, if the calculated value is less than at least one of the amounts of power required for performing the multiple maintenance processes, it is determined that the power required for performing the capping and maintenance processes is not stored.

[0084] If it is determined in S814 that the power required for capping and maintenance processing is not stored, the process proceeds to S816, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not capping is executable, that is, whether or not the power required for capping is stored. That is, in S816, if the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 acquired in S802 is greater than the amount of power required for capping, it is determined that the power required for capping is stored, and if it is less, it is determined that the power required for capping is not stored. If it is determined in S816 that the power required for capping is not stored, the process proceeds to S718 in the control process. If it is determined in S816 that the power required for capping is stored, the process proceeds to S818, where the CPU 216 executes capping, and then proceeds to S718 in the control process.

[0085] If it is determined in S814 that sufficient power is stored to perform the capping and maintenance processes, the process proceeds to S820, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not maintenance processes are required. In S820, similar to S804, it is determined whether or not to turn on a flag depending on the state of the print head 404 based on the number of ejections in the most recently executed recording process and the elapsed time since the most recently executed recording process. In S820, if any one of the first flag, second flag, and third flag is turned on, it is determined that maintenance processes are required, and if all three flags are turned off, it is determined that maintenance processes are not required.

[0086] If it is determined in S820 that the maintenance process is not required, the process proceeds to S718 in the control process. If it is determined in S820 that the maintenance process is required, the process proceeds to S822, where the maintenance process to be executed is determined. Here, for example, assume that in S820, only the first flag is ON, the amount of power required for capping is 3 W, and the amount of stored power in the EDLC302 acquired in S812 is 9 W. In this case, when the first maintenance process is executed, 3 W + 7 W = 10 W will be consumed, which exceeds the amount of stored power in the EDLC302 of 9 W acquired in S812.

[0087] Therefore, in S822, the CPU 216 determines, as the maintenance process to be executed, the maintenance process with the highest recovery intensity that can be executed with the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power required for capping from the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302. Specifically, in the table 900, the CPU 216 selects the maintenance process with the highest recovery intensity that can be executed with the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power required for capping from the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302, and determines the selected maintenance process as the maintenance process to be executed. Note that if there is no maintenance process that can be executed with the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power required for capping from the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302, the CPU 216 does not determine a maintenance process to be executed, or determines that there is no maintenance process to be executed.

[0088] Thereafter, in S824, the CPU 216 judges whether or not a maintenance process has been determined in S822. In S824, if it is determined in S822 that a maintenance process to be performed has not been determined, or that there is no maintenance process to be performed, it is judged that a maintenance process to be performed has not been determined. If it is determined in S824 that a maintenance process has not been determined, the process proceeds to S718 of the control process. Also, if it is determined in S824 that a maintenance process has been determined, the process proceeds to S826, where the maintenance process determined in S822 is performed. Note that, in S826, when the CPU 216 executes the maintenance process, it initializes each flag, that is, turns it OFF. Thereafter, in S828, the CPU 216 executes capping, and the process proceeds to S718 of the control process.

[0089] <Action and effect> As described above, in this embodiment, when it is detected that the USB cable has been removed during post-paper ejection processing, it is determined whether the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 at that time is equal to or greater than the amount of power required to perform capping and maintenance processing. Then, capping is performed preferentially based on the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302, and maintenance processing that can be performed is performed. As a result, in the recording device 10 according to this embodiment, even if the USB cable is removed after the paper ejection processing, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the ejection performance of the nozzles of the recording head 404. This reduces the impact on recording the next time the recording device 10 is started up.

[0090] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a recording device according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 10 to 15. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those described in the first embodiment are used for the same or corresponding configurations as those in the recording device according to the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0091] In the recording device 10, for example, when the USB cable is removed during the recording process, the recording process is stopped. At this time, inside the recording device 10, the positions of the components and the position of the recording medium in the transport path are different depending on the timing when the USB cable is removed or the timing when the recording process is stopped, and the positions of the components and the recording medium in the recording device 10 are indefinite. For this reason, the recording device 10 executes an initialization process to recover from the indefinite state at the next startup. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the process to recover from this indefinite state is efficiently executed. Below, a technology for efficiently executing the process to recover from the indefinite state will be described in detail.

[0092] <Connection standard> First, a description will be given of the connection standard between the recording device 10 and an external power source (external device). Fig. 10 is a table showing the amount of power supply for each connection standard.

[0093] BC1.2 is based on the USB-BC (Battery Charge) standard, and defines a method for identifying a charging USB port (CDP) by electrically determining it using the D+ and D- signal lines for data communication of the USB port. In addition, in the case of a standard USB port that is not a charging port, after this detection is complete, communication based on the USB standard is carried out, during which the USB version can be identified.

[0094] In addition, USB Type-C defines the Power Delivery standard, which allows the amount of power supply to be notified by communication via the CC pin. Note that the Power Delivery standard also allows the supply voltage to be controlled from 5V to 48V, but in Figure 4, the maximum power is shown as the value when 5V is supplied.

[0095] <Outline of the recording device> Next, a description will be given of a schematic configuration of the recording device 10. FIG 11 is a perspective view of the recording device 10.

[0096] The recording device 10 is provided with an operation panel 1002 on the front side, which is equipped with a user interface such as buttons and a touch panel. The recording device 10 is also provided with a paper discharge tray 1004 on the front side, below the operation panel 1002, for discharging recorded recording media. This paper discharge tray 1004 is configured to be movable in the Y direction, and when recording, it is pulled out from a storage position (position shown in FIG. 11) and positioned at a pull-out position for receiving the discharged recording medium. The recording device 10 may be provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting whether the paper discharge tray 1004 is in the pull-out position.

[0097] The recording device 10 is provided with a cassette 1006 that contains the recording medium to be fed, below the paper discharge tray 1004. The recording device 10 is also provided with an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) 1008 that can feed the recording medium, at the upper rear part of the recording device 10. The recording device 10 is also provided with a reading unit 204, such as a scanner, at the upper part of the recording device 10.

[0098] <Recording medium transport system> Next, there will be described a conveyance system for the recording medium in the recording apparatus 10. FIG.

[0099] As described above, the recording device 10 is configured to be able to feed the recording medium M from the cassette 1006 and also able to feed the recording medium M from the ASF 1008. The recording medium M fed from the cassette 1006 and the ASF 1008 is fed to a position where it can be detected by the detection sensor 1202. Thereafter, the recording medium M is conveyed by a first conveying roller 1204 (corresponding to the conveying roller 418 in FIG. 4) to a position where it can be printed by the print head 404 provided on the carriage 1206 (corresponding to the carriage 406 in FIG. 4). When the recording medium M is conveyed to that position, the recording device 10 drives the print head 404, the conveying motor 1208, and the carriage motor 1210 based on the print data to print on the recording medium while conveying the recording medium. The conveying motor 1208 corresponds to the conveying motor 420 in FIG. 4, and the carriage motor 1210 corresponds to the carriage motor 414 in FIG. 4.

[0100] In the cassette 1006, the recording medium M contained therein is fed to the first transport path CP1 by the cassette rollers 1212, and is transported toward the detection sensor 1202 by the second transport rollers 1214 provided in the first transport path CP1. In the ASF 1008, the set recording medium M is pushed up until it abuts against the ASF rollers 1216, and then is transported toward the detection sensor 1202 via the second transport path CP2 by the ASF rollers 1216. The first transport path CP1 and the second transport path CP2 join together on the upstream side of the detection sensor 1202 in the transport direction of the recording medium M. In this embodiment, the cassette rollers 1212 and the ASF rollers 1216 function as feed rollers that feed the recording medium.

[0101] The first conveyor roller 1204, cassette roller 1212, second conveyor roller 1214, and ASF roller 1216 are all driven by a conveyor motor 1208. The first conveyor roller 1204 rotates forward when the conveyor motor 1208 rotates forward, and rotates reverse when the conveyor motor 1208 rotates reverse. The second conveyor roller 1214 rotates forward due to the forward and reverse rotation of the conveyor motor 1208. In other words, the forward and reverse rotation of the conveyor motor 1208 transmits a driving force to the second conveyor roller 1214 so that it always rotates forward.

[0102] The driving force of the conveying motor 1208 is transmitted to the cassette roller 1212 and the ASF roller 1216 via a switching mechanism 1218. The switching mechanism 1218 can selectively switch the driving force of the conveying motor 1208 to either the cassette roller 1212 or the ASF 1216, or to neither. Furthermore, the first conveying roller 1204 and the second conveying roller 1214 are not affected by the drive destination switching by the switching mechanism 1218, and always receive the driving force of the conveying motor 1208. The switching mechanism 1218 switches the destination of the driving force by combining the drives of the first conveying roller 1204 and the carriage 1206.

[0103] <Control processing> In the above configuration, in the recording device 10, a control process is executed in parallel with a recording process for recording on the recording medium M based on a job, and the control process controls the execution of an initialization process for recovering from an indefinite state after removal of the USB. In this embodiment, the control process is executed in parallel with the recording process, but it may be executed in parallel with each process executed by the recording device 10, such as a maintenance process. The control process is executed regardless of the state of the recording device 10, except for an error state in which the motor cannot be driven.

[0104] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the detailed processing contents of the control processing executed by the recording device 10 according to the fourth embodiment. Fig. 14 is a table in which the state of the recording device when the USB cable is removed is associated with the initialization processing executed before driving is terminated and at the next startup. The series of processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 13 is performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 13 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit.

[0105] When the control process is started, first, in S1302, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable has been unplugged. Specifically, in S1302, as in S802, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable for supplying power from the USB interface has been unplugged via the USB communication control circuit 234 or the power supply control circuit 236. Alternatively, the CPU 216 checks the state of input current control in the charger IC 304 to determine whether or not the EDLC 302 is currently receiving power supply from an external device or the like.

[0106] Next, in S1304, CPU 216 sets variable n, which indicates a case number in table 1400 that associates the state of the recording device when the USB cable is removed with the initialization process to be executed before driving is terminated (before the power is turned off) and at the next startup, to 1. Then, in S1306, CPU 216 obtains information on case number n from table 1400.

[0107] Table 1400 will now be described with reference to FIG. 14. Table 1400 shows information in which the state of the recording device when the USB cable is removed (device state) is associated with the initialization process before the drive is terminated (pre-termination operation) and the amount of power required for this (power conditions), and the initialization process at the next startup (drive operation). Each piece of information is assigned a case number. In this embodiment, the power conditions are the power supply V of the EDLC 302, BATAlthough the threshold value is a voltage, it is not limited to this and may be the amount of power required to execute the pre-termination operation.

[0108] The device status indicates whether initialization is required for the three states of the conveying path status, the driving status, and the cap status. For each status, "o" indicates that initialization is not required (i.e., the same status as the status after initialization). For each status, "x" indicates that initialization is required (i.e., a status different from the status after initialization). For example, for the conveying path status, "x" indicates that the recording medium M remains in the conveying path, and "o" indicates that the recording medium M does not remain in the conveying path. When the driving status is "x", it indicates that the conveying motor 1208 is connected to either the cassette roller 1212 or the ASF roller 1216 by the switching mechanism 1218. Also, when the driving status is "o", it indicates that the conveying motor 1208 is not connected to either the cassette roller 1212 or the ASF roller 1216 by the switching mechanism 1218. In the capped state, an "X" indicates that the print head 404 is not capped, and an "O" indicates that the print head 404 is capped.

[0109] The pre-termination operation is an initialization process executed before the power is turned off by removing the USB cable, and the start-up operation is an initialization process executed when the power is turned on while power is being supplied via the USB cable. In this embodiment, the pre-termination operation and the start-up operation are a paper discharge operation, a drive-off operation, and a capping operation. The paper discharge operation is an operation of discharging the recording medium M located in the conveying path from the conveying path. The drive-off operation is an operation of causing the conveying motor 1208 to be in a state in which it is not connected to either the cassette roller 1212 or the ASF roller 1216 by the switching mechanism 1218. In other words, the drive-off operation is a switching operation of switching the driving force of the conveying motor 1208 from a transmission state in which it is transmitted to both the cassette roller 1212 and the ASF roller 1216 to a non-transmission state in which it is not transmitted by the switching mechanism 1218. The capping operation is an operation of capping the recording head 404 by the cap unit 422. The pre-shutdown operation and the startup operation are not limited to the above-mentioned operations, and may include, for example, operations executed in various known initialization processes, such as an operation for initializing the state of a cam or a maintenance unit.

[0110] In this embodiment, the above-mentioned operations as the initialization process are distributed and executed as the pre-shutdown operation and the start-up operation in the table 1400 according to the combination of the device state and the power condition. In this embodiment, the capping operation is executed preferentially. For example, when the device state is "x" in all states, if the power condition is 7V, which is a sufficient magnitude, the above-mentioned three operations as the initialization process are executed in the pre-shutdown operation, and the start-up operation is not executed. Also, when the device state is "x" in all states, if the power condition is 0V, the pre-shutdown operation is not executed, and the above-mentioned three operations as the initialization process are executed in the start-up operation. Furthermore, when the device state is "x" in all states, if the power condition is 5V and 6V, at least the capping operation is executed in the pre-shutdown operation, and the paper ejection operation and the power OFF operation, which were not executed in the pre-shutdown operation, are executed in the start-up operation.

[0111] In this way, in table 1400, the more pre-shutdown actions there are, the fewer start-up actions there are, and the start-up actions do not execute actions that were executed in the pre-shutdown actions. This shortens the time required for start-up actions, and enables the recording device to start up in a short time the next time it is started.

[0112] If the power is turned off while the USB cable is connected (i.e., while power can be supplied from the USB cable), the device state is initialized and the device ends with the final capping performed. Also, if the EDLC302 has sufficient stored power, the operation before the end will be the same as when the power is turned off while the USB cable is connected, and there will be no start-up operation (see case number 1 in table 1400).

[0113] If the power condition is 0V, that is, if the amount of charge stored in EDLC302 when the USB cable is removed is 0V or close to it, it is assumed that capping cannot be performed in the pre-shutdown operation, so the power is turned off without performing any pre-shutdown operation. Then, a full initialization operation is performed to perform all initialization operations in the startup operation (see case numbers 4, 7, and 12 in table 1400).

[0114] In the table 1400, the case number and the pre-end operation are set so that the operation to be executed with priority is surely executed. For example, capping is set to be executed with priority in order to prevent the print head 404 from drying out. The priority order may be changed according to the device state. For example, when the USB cable is removed at the time when the job is almost finished, it is preferable to respond with priority to the conveying path state rather than to the driving state, that is, to execute paper discharge with priority. For this reason, it is also possible to change the information associated with the case number. Also, in this embodiment, the power required for paper discharge is constant, but in reality, the position of the recording medium on the conveying path differs depending on the timing when the USB cable is removed. For this reason, the power required for paper discharge may be dynamically calculated.

[0115] Returning to FIG. 13, therefore, in S1306, the CPU 216 acquires information associated with the case number n in the table 1400, that is, the power conditions, the device state, the pre-termination operation, and the start-up operation. In S1306, the acquired information (including the case number) is stored in a storage area such as the non-volatile memory 222. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S1308, where the CPU 216 determines whether the current device state matches the device state acquired in S1306. In S1308, first, the CPU 216 detects the current device state, that is, the transport path state, the drive OFF state, and the capping state. Note that the detection of each state is based on the detection result of a sensor that is provided to detect each state. Note that the technology for detecting each state can use various known technologies. Thereafter, the detected current device status is compared with the device status acquired in S1306, and if the transport path status, drive OFF status, and capping status all match, it is determined that the current device status matches the device status acquired in S1306. Also, if at least one of the transport path status, drive OFF status, and capping status does not match, it is determined that the current device status does not match the device status acquired in S1306.

[0116] If it is determined in S1308 that the current device status does not match the device status acquired in S1306, the process proceeds to S1310, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not case number n+1 exists in the table 1400. If it is determined in S1310 that case number n+1 exists in the table 1400, the process proceeds to S1312, where the CPU 216 increments n, and proceeds to S1306. At this time, the information associated with the case number n stored in the storage area in S1306 is initialized. Also, if it is determined in S1310 that case number n+1 does not exist in the table 1400, the process proceeds to S1314. In S1314, the CPU 216 stores error information indicating that the initialization process based on the table 1400 could not be executed in the non-volatile memory 222, and ends this control process.

[0117] Furthermore, if it is determined in S1308 that the current device status matches the device status acquired in S1306, the process proceeds to S1316, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1306. In S1316, the CPU 216 first acquires the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 at the current time. Thereafter, the CPU 216 compares the acquired amount of stored power with the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1306, and determines whether or not the amount of stored power is equal to or greater than the amount of power.

[0118] If it is determined in S1316 that the current amount of power stored in EDLC 302 is not equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1306, that is, the amount of power stored is less than the amount of power stored, the process proceeds to S1310. If it is determined in S1316 that the current amount of power stored in EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1306, the process proceeds to S1318, where the pre-termination operation acquired in S1306 is executed. Then, the process proceeds to S1320, where CPU 216 determines whether an error has occurred as a result of execution of the pre-termination operation. In S1320, it is determined that an error has occurred, for example, when a paper jam occurs during a paper discharge operation.

[0119] If it is determined in S1320 that no error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1322, where the CPU 216 stores in the non-volatile memory 222 the case number n corresponding to the information acquired in the most recent S1306, and ends this control process. Note that in S1306, information associated with the case number, including the case number, is stored. Therefore, in S1320, only the case number is stored, and other information is initialized. Also, if it is determined in S1320 that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1324, where the CPU 216 stores in the non-volatile memory 222 error information generated by the execution of the pre-termination operation, and ends this control process. At this time, the information associated with the case number n stored in the storage area in S1306 is initialized.

[0120] When the control process is completed, the CPU 216 powers off the recording device 10. At this time, if there is any process required when the power is turned off, the CPU 216 executes that process and then powers off the recording device 10. When the recording device 10 is powered off after the control process is performed, power-off information indicating that the recording device 10 has been powered off by the control process is stored in a storage area such as the non-volatile memory 222.

[0121] <Post-boot processing> Next, a description will be given of the post-startup process executed immediately after the recording device 10 is started. In the recording device 10, the above-mentioned control process executes an operation according to the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 at the timing when the USB cable is removed, thereby simplifying the contents of the initialization process when the recording device 10 is next started. Therefore, by executing the post-startup process at startup, the recording device 10 executes a startup operation according to the contents of the pre-shutdown operation executed in the most recent control process.

[0122] Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the detailed processing contents of the post-start processing executed by the recording device 10 according to the fourth embodiment. The series of processing shown in the flowchart in Fig. 15 is performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 15 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit.

[0123] When the post-startup process is started, first, in S1502, the CPU 216 judges whether or not the last power-off in the recording device 10 was executed by the control process. In the recording device 10, when the USB cable is removed, the control process is executed and the power is turned off by the control process. On the other hand, when the USB cable is not removed or when an error state not judged by the control process occurs, such as when the motor cannot be driven, the corresponding power-off is executed. When the power is turned off in the control process, power-off information indicating that the power was turned off in the control process is stored in the non-volatile memory 222. Therefore, in S1502, it is judged whether or not the power-off information is stored in the non-volatile memory 222. If the power-off information is stored in the non-volatile memory 222, it is judged that the last power-off was executed by the control process, and if the power-off information is not stored, it is judged that the last power-off was not executed by the control process.

[0124] If it is determined in S1502 that the most recent power OFF was not performed by the control process, this post-start process is terminated. Also, if it is determined in S1502 that the most recent power OFF was performed by the control process, the process proceeds to S1504, where the CPU 216 acquires error information stored in the non-volatile memory 222 in the control process. Then, in S1506, the CPU 216 determines whether an error has occurred in the control process. In S1506, if error information can be acquired from the non-volatile memory 222 in S1504, it is determined that an error has occurred in the control process. If no error has occurred in the control process, no error information is stored in the non-volatile memory 222. Therefore, in S1506, if there is no error information that can be acquired in the non-volatile memory 222 in S1504, it is determined that no error has occurred in the control process.

[0125] If it is determined in S1506 that no error has occurred in the control process, the process proceeds to S1508, where the CPU 216 acquires the case number stored in the non-volatile memory 222 in the control process. After that, in S1510, the CPU 216 acquires the startup operation using the case number acquired in S1508 and the table 1400, executes the acquired startup operation, and ends this post-startup process. In S1510, the startup operation among the information associated with the case number acquired in S1508 in the table 1400 is acquired, and the acquired startup operation is executed. Also, if it is determined in S1506 that an error has occurred in the control process, the process proceeds to S1512, where the CPU 216 executes an initialization process corresponding to the error that has occurred, and ends this post-startup process. Note that the initialization process corresponding to the error is preset. Also, when the post-startup process is ended, the power OFF information, the case number stored in the non-volatile memory 222, the error information, and the like are initialized.

[0126] <Action and effect> As described above, in this embodiment, when the USB cable is removed from the recording device 10 during processing, the recording device 10 performs the possible operations of the initialization process and then turns off the power, depending on the device state at that time and the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302. Then, immediately after the recording device 10 is started up, the remaining operations of the initialization process are performed depending on the operations that were being performed before the power was turned off.

[0127] As a result, in the recording device 10 according to this embodiment, when the recording device is powered off after the USB cable is unplugged, the time required for the initialization process to be executed is shortened the next time the recording device is started and starts to record, and the time until the start of the recording is shortened. Also, by giving priority to the capping operation in the initialization process executed when the USB cable is unplugged, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the nozzle ejection characteristics of the recording head 404, and the influence on the next recording is reduced.

[0128] Fifth embodiment Next, a recording device according to a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 16 and 17. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those described in the fourth embodiment are used for the same or corresponding configurations as those in the recording device according to the fourth embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0129] 16 is a diagram showing the recording medium remaining in the conveying path when the USB cable is removed during recording processing. Although not specifically described in the above fourth embodiment, the first conveying roller 1204 and the second conveying roller 1214 each include a drive roller that rotates by the driving force of the conveying motor 1208, and a driven roller that is in pressure contact with the drive roller and drives it. The first conveying roller 1204 and the second conveying roller 1214 convey the recording medium M by rotating while nipping the recording medium M between the drive roller and the driven roller.

[0130] 16, the preceding recording medium M1 is nipped by the first conveying roller 1204, but the succeeding recording medium M2 has not yet reached the second conveying roller 1214 and is in the process of being fed by the cassette roller 1212. In this state, it is possible to execute the drive OFF operation using the power of the EDLC 302, but there is a possibility that the paper ejection operation cannot be performed.

[0131] 16, for example, a drive-off operation and a capping operation are executed as pre-termination operations executed in the control process, and a paper discharge operation is executed in the startup operation executed in the post-termination process. In this case, in the paper discharge operation in the startup operation, the preceding recording medium M1 is discharged by the first conveyor roller 1204, but the succeeding recording medium M2 has not yet reached the second conveyor roller 1214 and must be conveyed by the cassette roller 1212. However, due to the drive-off operation executed in the pre-termination operation, the switching mechanism 1218 is in a state where it cannot transmit the driving force of the conveyor motor 1208 to the cassette roller 1212.

[0132] For this reason, in order to eject the recording medium M2, it is necessary for the switching mechanism 1218 to be in a state in which the driving force of the transport motor 1208 can be transmitted to the cassette roller 1212. Therefore, when the USB cable is removed in the state of Fig. 16, the time required for the start-up operation is shortened by not executing the drive OFF operation in the pre-termination operation.

[0133] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the drive-off operation is executed without performing the paper discharge operation in the pre-termination operation, the recording medium that is not nipped by the roll driven by the conveying motor 1208 without the drive-off operation is conveyed to a position where it is nipped by the roll. Then, the pre-termination operation is executed after that. The control process executed by the recording apparatus 10 in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0134] <Control processing> Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing detailed processing contents of the control processing executed by the recording device 10 according to the fifth embodiment. The series of processing shown in the flowchart in Fig. 17 is performed by the CPU 216 expanding the program code stored in the program memory 218 into the data memory 220 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in Fig. 17 may be executed by hardware such as an ASIC or an electric circuit.

[0135] When the control process starts, in S1702, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the USB cable has been unplugged. If it is determined in S1702 that the USB cable has been unplugged, in S1704, the CPU 216 sets a variable n to 1. Then, in S1706, the CPU 216 acquires information of case number n from the table 1400. After that, in S1708, the CPU 216 determines whether or not the current device status matches the device status acquired in S1706.

[0136] If it is determined in S1708 that the current device status does not match the device status acquired in S1706, the process proceeds to S1710, where the CPU 216 determines whether or not case number n+1 exists in table 1400. If it is determined in S1710 that case number n+1 exists in table 1400, the process proceeds to S1712, where the CPU 216 increments n, and then proceeds to S1706. If it is determined in S1710 that case number n+1 does not exist in table 1400, the process proceeds to S1714. In S1714, the CPU 216 stores error information indicating that the initialization process based on table 1400 could not be executed in non-volatile memory 222, and ends this control process.

[0137] Furthermore, if it is determined in S1708 that the current device status matches the device status acquired in S1706, the process proceeds to S1716 where the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of power stored in the EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power condition acquired in S1706. Note that the specific process contents from S1702 to S1716 are the same as those from S1302 to S1316 described above, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0138] If it is determined in S1716 that the current amount of power stored in EDLC 302 is not equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1706, the process proceeds to S1710. If it is determined in S1716 that the current amount of power stored in EDLC 302 is equal to or greater than the amount of power corresponding to the power conditions acquired in S1706, the process proceeds to S1718. In S1718, CPU 216 determines whether or not the pre-termination operation acquired in S1706 is to not execute a paper ejection operation but to execute a drive-off operation. In table 1400, in case numbers 2 and 5, the pre-termination operation is to not execute a paper ejection operation but to execute a drive-off operation.

[0139] If it is determined in S1718 that the pre-termination operation acquired in S1706 does not include a paper discharge operation and does not include a drive OFF operation, the process proceeds to S1726, which will be described later. If it is determined in S1718 that the pre-termination operation acquired in S1706 does not include a paper discharge operation and includes a drive OFF operation, the process proceeds to S1720, where it is determined whether or not there is a recording medium M that is not nipped by a predetermined roller. In this embodiment, the predetermined rollers are the first conveying roller 1204 and the second conveying roller 1214 to which the driving force of the conveying motor 1208 is transmitted regardless of the drive OFF operation. The position of the recording medium M in the conveying path is detected from the operation sequence of the process that was being executed when the USB cable was removed.

[0140] If it is determined in S1720 that there is no recording medium M that is not nipped by a predetermined roller, the process proceeds to S1726, which will be described later. If it is determined in S1720 that there is a recording medium M that is not nipped by a predetermined roller, the process proceeds to S1722. In S1722, the CPU 216 determines whether the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 acquired in S1716 is greater than a value obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the amount of power required for the pre-termination operation (amount of power according to the power conditions). The predetermined amount is calculated based on the distance from the position of the recording medium M in the conveying path acquired in S1720 to the predetermined roller that is closest to the recording medium M on the downstream side of the position in the conveying direction, and the amount of power (a preset value) required to convey the recording medium M a predetermined distance.

[0141] If it is determined in S1722 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 obtained in 1716 is less than the amount of power required for the pre-termination operation plus a predetermined amount, the process proceeds to S1710. As a result, for example, in the state shown in FIG. 16, the pre-termination operation including the drive OFF operation is not performed. Also, if it is determined in S1722 that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 obtained in 1716 is greater than the amount of power required for the pre-termination operation plus a predetermined amount, the process proceeds to S1724. In S1724, the CPU 216 transports the recording medium M that is not nipped by the predetermined roller, and nip it with the predetermined roller. That is, the recording medium M is moved to a position where it can be transported by the predetermined roller.

[0142] To nip the recording medium M with a nearby specified roller, it is only necessary to transport the recording medium M from the position of the recording medium M acquired in S1720 to a position where its leading edge exceeds the specified roller by a certain amount. Therefore, the power required to transport the recording medium M is significantly less than the power required for the paper discharge operation to discharge the recording medium M from the transport path. In other words, when there is not enough power to perform the paper discharge operation but there is enough power to transport the recording medium M to a position where it is nipped with a nearby specified roller, the recording medium M is transported until it is nipped with the specified roller before performing the pre-termination operation. This makes it possible to smoothly perform the paper discharge operation by the startup operation during the initialization operation after startup.

[0143] When the process proceeds to S1726, the CPU 216 executes the pre-termination operation acquired in S1706. After that, in S1728, the CPU 216 judges whether or not an error has occurred due to the execution of the pre-termination operation. When it is judged in S1728 that an error has not occurred, the process proceeds to S1730, where the CPU 216 stores in the non-volatile memory 222 the case number n corresponding to the information acquired in the most recent S1706, and ends the control process. When it is judged in S1728 that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1732, where the CPU 216 stores in the non-volatile memory 222 the error information generated due to the execution of the pre-termination operation, and ends the control process. Note that the specific process contents from S1726 to S1732 are the same as those from S1318 to S1324 described above, and therefore detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0144] When the control process is terminated, if there is any process required for power off, the CPU 216 executes that process and then powers off the recording device 10. When the recording device 10 is powered off after the control process is executed, the fact that the power to the recording device 10 was turned off as part of the control process is stored in a storage area such as the non-volatile memory 222.

[0145] <Action and effect> As described above, in this embodiment, when the drive OFF operation is performed without performing the paper discharge operation in the pre-termination operation, it is determined whether or not the recording medium M is nipped by a predetermined roller that can be driven without the drive OFF operation. If it is determined that the recording medium M is not nipped by the predetermined roller, the recording medium M is transported to a position where it is nipped by the predetermined roller, and then the pre-termination operation is performed. This provides the same effects as the fourth embodiment described above, and also makes it possible to smoothly execute the paper discharge process by the startup operation, shortening the time until recording after startup and suppressing the impact on the recording.

[0146] (Other embodiments) The above-described embodiment may be modified as shown in the following (1) to (12).

[0147] (1) In the above first and second embodiments, the amount of power required for capping is stored in the EDLC 302 regardless of whether the USB cable is removed after the paper ejection process, whether after the end or start of the recording process, or before the start of the recording process. However, this is not limited to this. In other words, the processes to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to recording processes. For example, the present invention can be applied to predetermined processes executed after releasing the cap on the print head 404, such as maintenance processes and mechanical initialization processes such as determining the origin position of the carriage 406. When applied to maintenance processes, examples of processes corresponding to paper ejection processes during recording processes include processes for notifying that maintenance processes have been completed.

[0148] (2) In the first and second embodiments, the preliminary ejection is executed during a certain period of time after the paper ejection process, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the preliminary ejection, other maintenance processes may be executed. In the above embodiments, a USB cable is used as the interface cable, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various known cables may be used as the interface cable.

[0149] (3) In the above embodiment, the recording device 10 is a so-called serial scan type recording device that uses a recording head that ejects ink while moving in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, but is not limited to this. It may also be a so-called full line type recording device that uses a long recording head that covers the entire width of the recording area on the recording medium.

[0150] (4) In the first embodiment, after the recording process is completed, it is determined whether the amount of charge stored in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined whether the amount of charge stored in the EDLC 302 has reached a predetermined value at a predetermined timing before the recording process is completed, and if the amount of charge has not reached the predetermined value, charging of the EDLC 302 may be performed during the recording process. Charging of the EDLC 302 during the recording process may be performed, for example, during a standby time provided for each scan of the print head 404.

[0151] (5) Although not specifically mentioned in the first and second embodiments, it may be possible to determine whether the USB cable has been removed immediately after the capping is released, and to immediately perform capping when the USB cable has been removed. That is, in this case, when it is determined that the USB cable has been removed, the process being performed is interrupted, the print head 404 is moved to the standby position, and then the print head 404 is capped. In this case, the charging of the EDLC 302 is controlled so that the amount of electricity stored in the EDLC 302 after the capping is released is always equal to or greater than the total amount of electricity required for capping and the amount of electricity required for moving the print head 404 to the standby position.

[0152] (6) Although not specifically described in the third embodiment, in the post-paper-discharge process in S716, when the USB cable is removed, the capacity and the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 may be checked so that the amount of stored power in the EDLC 302 is always equal to or greater than the amount of power required for capping. In this case, the CPU 216 periodically monitors the states of the Charger IC 304 and the EDLC 302 during the recording process, so that it becomes possible to immediately detect that the USB cable has been removed. After detection, if recording is in progress, the recording operation is immediately stopped, paper discharge processing is performed, and then post-paper discharge processing is performed.

[0153] (7) Although not specifically described in the third embodiment, the next time the recording device is started up with the USB cable connected (powered), a predetermined maintenance process may be executed in addition to the post-startup operation. For example, the maintenance process executed in S826 may have a lower recovery intensity than the maintenance process determined to be necessary in S820. In this case, the maintenance process selected in S820 (required maintenance process) and the maintenance process executed in S826 are stored in the non-volatile memory 222. Then, when the recording device 10 is started up next time after receiving power, the predetermined maintenance process is determined based on the maintenance process that was required and the maintenance process that was executed in the most recent post-ejection process stored in the non-volatile memory 222. For example, the maintenance process selected in S820 may be executed as the predetermined maintenance process. Alternatively, the maintenance process corresponding to the difference in recovery intensity between the maintenance process selected in S820 and the maintenance process executed in S826 may be executed as the predetermined maintenance process. Specifically, for example, if the maintenance process selected in S820 was the first maintenance process and the maintenance process executed in S826 was the second maintenance process, the maintenance process corresponding to the difference described above is the third maintenance process.

[0154] (8) In the third embodiment, the wiping process and the suction process are performed as the maintenance process, and when there is a stored amount in the EDLC 302, the capping process is performed after the maintenance process, but this is not limited to the above. The suction process is performed in a capped state. In contrast, the wiping process cannot be performed in a capped state. For this reason, in the third embodiment, the capping process is performed after the maintenance process. For example, by limiting the maintenance process to only processes that can be performed in a capped state, it becomes possible to perform the maintenance process after the capping process, and the time required for the capping and maintenance processes can be shortened.

[0155] (9) Although not specifically mentioned in the fourth and fifth embodiments, an operation based on post-startup processing or a full initialization operation may be executed depending on the state of the recording device 10 after startup.

[0156] The recording device 10 may enter an undefined state due to a user operation after the power is turned off. For example, a recording medium may remain in the transport path after the control process executes a termination operation, and the user may then perform an operation such as removing the recording medium remaining in the transport path after the power is turned off, changing the device state. In this case, if the user's operation after the power is turned off is performed correctly and the recording device 10 is in the initial state (the state after the initialization process is executed), there is no problem, but if an incorrect operation or an incomplete operation is performed, the recording device 10 will enter an undefined state.

[0157] Therefore, when the control process ends, the sensor state is stored in the non-volatile memory 222, and when the post-start process starts, the sensor state at the current time is compared with the sensor state at the end of the control process. When the two sensor states match, the post-start process is executed, and when the two sensor states differ, the post-start process is not executed, and an overall initialization operation is executed to execute all the initialization operations. The sensor state includes, for example, the detection result of a sensor 1220 (see FIG. 12) that is located near the first conveying roller 1204 and the second conveying roller 1214 and is provided downstream in the conveying direction and is capable of detecting the recording medium M. It also includes the detection result of a sensor 1222 (see FIG. 12) that is capable of detecting the state in which the driving force of the conveying motor 1208 is transmitted to the cassette roller 1212 by the switching mechanism 1218. It also includes the detection result of a sensor (not shown) that is capable of detecting the capping of the recording head 404 by the cap part 422.

[0158] (10) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for realizing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or device via a network or a print medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) for realizing one or more of the functions.

[0159] 5, for example, a notification urging not to disconnect the USB cable or the external power source until capping is completed may be issued on the operation panel 208. The notification may be issued after the recording process or the paper discharge process has started.

[0160] (12) The above embodiment and the various configurations shown in (1) to (11) above may be combined as appropriate.

[0161] The disclosure of the above embodiment includes the following configurations and methods. (Configuration 1) A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery means for performing a recovery operation for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection characteristics of the recording means; a control unit that, when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, executes the recovery operation in accordance with the amount of power stored in the power storage unit. (Configuration 2) the recovery unit is a capping unit that performs capping as the recovery operation on the recording unit, The recording device according to configuration 1, wherein the control means stores the power supplied from the external power source at a predetermined timing so that the capping can be performed when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped. (Configuration 3) The recording apparatus according to configuration 2, wherein the predetermined timing is before the start of a paper discharge process for discharging the recording medium, which is executed after the end of a recording process for recording based on a job. (Configuration 4) 4. The recording apparatus according to configuration 3, wherein the amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage means at the predetermined timing includes an amount of electricity required for the paper discharge process and an amount of electricity required for the capping process. (Configuration 5) 3. The recording apparatus according to configuration 2, wherein the predetermined timing is before the start of a recording process for recording based on a job. (Configuration 6) The recording device according to configuration 5, wherein the amount of electricity stored in the power storage means at the predetermined timing includes an amount of electricity required for the recording process, an amount of electricity required for a paper discharge process for discharging the recording medium executed after the recording process is completed, and an amount of electricity required for the capping. (Configuration 7) the control means executes a preliminary ejection, which is an ejection of ink that does not contribute to recording in the recording means, after the paper ejection process; 7. The recording apparatus according to configuration 4 or 6, wherein the amount of electric power stored in the power storage means at the predetermined timing further includes an amount of electric power required for the preliminary ejection. (Configuration 8) 3. The recording apparatus according to configuration 2, wherein the predetermined timing is during execution of a recording process for recording based on a job. (Configuration 9) The recovery means includes: a capping unit that performs capping to protect a nozzle surface on which nozzles for ejecting ink are formed in the recording means; a maintenance unit that suctions the inside of the cap unit to create a negative pressure, The control means As the recovery operation, the capping by the cap portion and a first operation of discharging ink from the nozzles by creating a negative pressure inside the cap portion while the capping is performed are performed; 2. The recording apparatus according to configuration 1, wherein when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, the recovery operation is performed so that the capping is preferentially performed according to the amount of stored power in the power storage means. (Configuration 10) 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the capping and the first operation are performed in accordance with the amount of stored power in the power storage means, the control means performs the recovery operation after performing the capping. (Configuration 11) The maintenance unit further wipes the nozzle surface, The recording apparatus according to configuration 9 or 10, wherein the control means executes, as the recovery operation, the capping by the cap portion, the first operation, and a second operation of wiping the nozzle surface. (Configuration 12) The recording device according to configuration 11, wherein when the control means executes the capping, the first operation, and the second operation according to the amount of stored power in the storage means, the control means executes the capping after executing the first operation and the second operation. (Configuration 13) 13. The recording apparatus according to any one of configurations 9 to 12, wherein the control means changes the number of times the maintenance unit executes the recovery operation in accordance with the amount of stored power in the power storage means. (Configuration 14) A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery means for performing a recovery operation for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection characteristics of the recording means; a control unit that executes an initialization operation for initializing a state of the recording apparatus according to a stored amount of the power storage unit when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped. (Configuration 15) The conveying means is a feed roller that feeds the recording medium by the driving force of a driving means; a conveying roller that conveys the recording medium fed by the feeding roller by a driving force of the driving means; a switching unit that switches between a transmission state in which the driving force of the driving unit is transmitted to the feed roller and a non-transmission state in which the driving force of the driving unit is not transmitted to the feed roller, The initialization operation includes: a discharge operation of the recording medium by the conveying means; A switching operation to a non-transmission state by the switching means; and a capping operation of said recording means by said recovery means. (Configuration 16) The recording device described in configuration 15, characterized in that when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, the initialization operation corresponding to the amount of stored power in the storage means is performed and the power is turned off, and then the recording device records with power being supplied from the external power source, the control means executes at least the initialization operations that were performed when the power was turned off but have not been performed. (Configuration 17) 17. The recording apparatus according to configuration 15 or 16, wherein the initialization operation executed according to the amount of stored power in the power storage means is such that the capping operation is executed with priority. (Configuration 18) A recording device according to any one of configurations 15 to 17, characterized in that when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped and the recording medium is not in a position where it can be transported by the transport roller, the initialization operation is performed after transporting the recording medium to that position according to the amount of electricity stored in the storage means. (Configuration 19) A recording device according to any one of configurations 15 to 18, characterized in that when the recording device is started up with power supplied from the external power source, if the device state does not match the device state when the power supply from the external power source is stopped, the initialization operation corresponding to the amount of stored power in the storage means is performed, and the power is turned off, the control means performs all of the initialization operations. (Configuration 20) A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery unit that executes a recovery operation to maintain and recover the ink ejection characteristics of the recording unit, a control method for controlling a power supply from the external power source to the power storage means, the control method comprising the steps of: executing the recovery operation according to an amount of stored power in the power storage means when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped; (Configuration 21) A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery unit that executes a recovery operation to maintain and recover the ink ejection characteristics of the recording unit, a control method comprising: executing an initialization operation for initializing a device state according to a stored amount of the power storage means when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped; (Configuration 22) 22. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to configuration 20 or 21. [Explanation of symbols]

[0162] 10 Recording Device 214 USB interface 216 CPU 302 EDLC 304 ChargerIC 404 Recording head 408 Maintenance Department

Claims

1. A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery means for performing a recovery operation for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection characteristics of the recording means; a control unit that, when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, executes the recovery operation in accordance with the amount of power stored in the power storage unit.

2. the recovery unit is a capping unit that performs capping as the recovery operation on the recording unit, 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means stores the power supplied from the external power source at a predetermined timing so that the capping can be performed when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped.

3. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing is before the start of a paper discharge process for discharging the recording medium, which is executed after the end of a recording process for recording based on a job.

4. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the amount of electricity stored in the power storage means at the predetermined timing includes an amount of electricity required for the paper discharge process and an amount of electricity required for the capping process.

5. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing is before the start of a recording process for recording based on a job.

6. 6. The recording device according to claim 5, wherein the amount of electricity stored in the power storage means at the specified timing includes the amount of electricity required for the recording process, the amount of electricity required for a paper discharge process for discharging the recording medium executed after the recording process is completed, and the amount of electricity required for the capping.

7. the control means executes a preliminary ejection, which is an ejection of ink that does not contribute to recording in the recording means, after the paper ejection process; 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the amount of electric power stored in the power storage means at the predetermined timing further includes an amount of electric power required for the preliminary ejection.

8. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing is during execution of a recording process for recording based on a job.

9. The recovery means includes: a capping unit that performs capping to protect a nozzle surface on which nozzles for ejecting ink are formed in the recording means; a maintenance unit that suctions the inside of the cap unit to create a negative pressure, The control means As the recovery operation, the capping by the cap portion and a first operation of discharging ink from the nozzles by creating a negative pressure inside the cap portion while the capping is performed are performed; 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, the recovery operation is performed so that the capping is preferentially performed according to the amount of charge stored in the power storage means.

10. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control means, when executing the capping and the first operation in accordance with the amount of stored power in the power storage means, executes the recovery operation after executing the capping.

11. The maintenance unit further wipes the nozzle surface, 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit executes, as the recovery operation, the capping by the cap portion, the first operation, and a second operation of wiping the nozzle surface.

12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, when the control means executes the capping, the first operation, and the second operation according to the amount of stored power in the storage means, the control means executes the capping after executing the first operation and the second operation.

13. 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit changes the number of times the maintenance unit executes the recovery operation in accordance with the amount of stored power in the power storage unit.

14. A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery means for performing a recovery operation for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection characteristics of the recording means; a control unit that executes an initialization operation for initializing a state of the recording apparatus according to a stored amount of the power storage unit when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped.

15. The conveying means is a feed roller that feeds the recording medium by the driving force of a driving means; a conveying roller that conveys the recording medium fed by the feeding roller by a driving force of the driving means; a switching unit that switches between a transmission state in which the driving force of the driving unit is transmitted to the feed roller and a non-transmission state in which the driving force of the driving unit is not transmitted to the feed roller, The initialization operation includes: a discharge operation of the recording medium by the conveying means; A switching operation to a non-transmission state by the switching means; 15. The recording apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a capping operation for said recording means by said recovery means.

16. The recording device according to claim 15, characterized in that when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, the initialization operation corresponding to the amount of stored power in the storage means is performed and the power is turned off, and then the recording device records with power being supplied from the external power source, the control means executes at least the initialization operations that were performed when the power was turned off but have not been performed.

17. 16. The recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the initialization operation that is executed in accordance with the amount of stored power in the power storage means is executed with priority given to the capping operation.

18. A recording device according to claim 15, characterized in that if the recording medium is not in a position where it can be transported by the transport roller when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped, the initialization operation is performed after transporting the recording medium to that position according to the amount of stored power in the storage means.

19. The recording device according to claim 15, characterized in that when the recording device is started up with power supplied from the external power source, if the device state does not match the device state when the power supply from the external power source is stopped, the initialization operation according to the amount of stored power in the storage means is performed, and the power is turned off, the control means performs all of the initialization operations.

20. A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery unit that executes a recovery operation to maintain and recover the ink ejection characteristics of the recording unit, a control method for controlling a power supply from the external power source to the power storage means, the control method comprising the steps of: executing the recovery operation according to an amount of stored power in the power storage means when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped;

21. A connection means for connecting to an external power source; a power storage means for storing power supplied from the external power source via the connection means; a recording means for ejecting ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a conveying means, a recovery unit that executes a recovery operation to maintain and recover the ink ejection characteristics of the recording unit, A control method comprising the steps of: executing an initialization operation for initializing a device state according to a stored amount of the power storage means when the supply of power from the external power source is stopped.

22. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 20 or 21.

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