Liquid discharge device and method for controlling liquid discharge device

Abstract

To provide a liquid discharge device and a method for controlling a liquid discharge device that can suppress power consumption without impairing operational feel.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge device performs exclusive control between inclination correction operation that is performed such that a recording medium abuts on a transportation roller 2 in a recording part 51 and operation of a reading part 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus and a method for controlling the liquid ejection apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In liquid ejection devices, multiple power consumption units, such as motors and print heads, typically receive power from a single power source. However, to avoid increasing the device size and for environmental reasons, it is necessary to reduce the power supply capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to control each power consumption unit so as to suppress the peak power, which is the sum of the power consumption amounts of each power consumption unit.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses that in a control device equipped with a reading unit and a recording unit, the power consumption of the entire device is reduced by performing the reading operation and the recording operation sequentially rather than simultaneously. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-068862 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when the reading operation and the recording operation are performed sequentially rather than simultaneously as in Patent Document 1, it takes more time than when the reading operation and the recording operation are performed in parallel, and there is a risk that the user's operational experience will be impaired.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid ejection device and a method for controlling a liquid ejection device that can reduce power consumption without impairing the user's operational feel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Therefore, the liquid ejection device of the present invention comprises a recording unit that records an image on a recording medium, a reading unit that reads an image of an original document, and a control means that controls the recording unit and the reading unit, and is characterized in that the control means limits the operation of the recording unit or the reading unit during a period when one of the recording unit and the reading unit is performing a predetermined operation that consumes a lot of power. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid ejection device and a method for controlling a liquid ejection device that can reduce power consumption without impairing the operability. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a liquid ejection device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the printing system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a conveyance unit for a recording medium in the liquid ejection device. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flatbed scanner performing a reading operation. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a medium transport path in the ADF scanner unit. [Figure 7] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between current and torque in a motor. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph showing power consumption and total power consumption. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a document reading process. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a double-sided recording process. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing a front / back reversal process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view showing the exterior of a liquid ejection device 50 to which the present invention can be applied, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view showing the interior of the liquid ejection device 50. The liquid ejection device 50 includes a recording unit 51 that records on a conveyed recording medium, and a reading unit 52 that reads a read medium (hereinafter referred to as a document). The liquid ejection device 50 also includes an operation and display unit 211. The reading unit 52 includes a flatbed scanner unit 521 of a fixed document reading type that reads a fixed document, and an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) scanner unit 522 of a conveyed document reading type that reads a document while it is being conveyed. In other words, the liquid ejection device 50 has two types of medium reading means. When a user operates the operation and display unit 211, the liquid ejection device 50 performs a reading operation or a recording operation.

[0012] The liquid ejection device 50 includes a feed roller 1 that feeds the recording medium, a transport roller 2 that transports the recording medium, and a pinch roller 3 that is driven by the transport roller 2. The recording medium is conveyed onto a platen 31 while being sandwiched between the transport roller 2 and the pinch roller 3, and an image is recorded on the recording medium by a recording head (ejection head) 4. The recording head 4 is held by a carriage 5 and moves back and forth in the X direction, thereby ejecting liquid to any position in the width direction (X direction) of the recording medium to perform recording.

[0013] 2 is a block diagram showing the control unit of a printing system in which a host computer 214 and a liquid ejection device 50 are connected. The liquid ejection device 50 includes a print head driver 209, a motor driver 209, an operation display unit 211, a ROM 202, and a RAM 203, all of which are connected to an MPU 201. The MPU 201 controls the entire liquid ejection device 50, including the operation of each unit and data processing. The ROM 202 stores programs executed by the MPU 201 and various data. The RAM 203 temporarily stores processing data executed by the MPU 201 and data received from the host computer 214. The print head driver 208 controls the print head 4.

[0014] The motor driver 209 controls the carriage motor 204, which drives the carriage 5; the transport motor 205; the scanner motor 206, which drives a reading unit (not shown); and the ADF motor 207, which drives an ADF document transport unit (not shown). The carriage motor 204, the transport motor 205, the scanner motor 206, and the ADF motor 207 can be powered by a common power source. The motor driver 209 includes a current upper limit control circuit 210 that defines the upper limit of the current flowing through the connected motors 204 to 207. The current upper limit control circuit 210 can define multiple levels of upper current limits, and these multiple setting values ​​can be switched based on commands from the MPU 201. The transport rollers 2, the relay roller 20, and the discharge roller 18 are driven by the same transport motor 205, which is a DC motor. Each of the motors 204 to 207 connected to the motor driver 209 is a motor whose current value passively varies depending on the load torque. In this embodiment, the conveying motor 205 is described as a DC motor, but the conveying motor 205 may be an AC motor.

[0015] The host computer 214 is provided with a printer driver 2141 for collecting recording information such as the recorded image and the quality of the recorded image when a command to execute a recording operation is received from the user, and communicating with the liquid ejection device 50. The MPU 201 exchanges recorded images and the like with the host computer 214 via the I / F unit 213.

[0016] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid ejection device 50, and FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are cross-sectional views showing the recording medium transport section (transport path) in the liquid ejection device 50. The recording medium loaded in the paper feed section 6 is transported by the paper feed roller 1 and the transport roller 2, printing is performed at the position of the platen 31, and the recording medium is then discharged by the discharge roller 18. A paper sensor 19 is provided between the paper feed roller 1 and the transport roller 2, and if the paper sensor 19 cannot detect the paper even when the paper feed roller 1 is rotated, a jam error notification is generated.

[0017] The recording medium is nipped between the transport roller (main transport roller) 2 and the pinch roller 3, and the transport roller 2 is rotated in the forward direction (arrow α direction in FIG. 4(a)) to pass the recording medium along the path indicated by arrow β in FIG. 4(a), thereby recording on the front side of the recording medium. When recording on the front side of the recording medium is completed, if the nip between the transport roller 2 and the pinch roller 3 has not yet been released, the recording medium is transported until it is released. After recording on the front side is completed, the discharge roller 18 is rotated in the reverse direction (arrow γ direction in FIG. 4(b)), and the recording medium is transported in the opposite direction (-Y direction) to the transport direction used for recording on the front side. Then, the transport roller 2 and the pinch roller 3 again nip the rear edge of the front side of the recording medium. After nipping the recording medium, the transport roller 2 is further rotated in the reverse direction (opposite to arrow α in FIG. 4(a)), causing the recording medium to make a U-turn along a path different from that used for recording on the front side, and the leading edge of the back side of the recording medium reaches the relay roller 20. The relay roller 20 shares a drive source with the transport roller 2, but rotates to transport the recording medium in the Y direction regardless of the rotation direction of the transport roller 2. The relay roller 20 then transports the recording medium until the leading edge of the recording medium reaches the paper sensor 19 (see FIG. 4(b)).

[0018] The conveying roller 2 and relay roller 20 are then rotated in the reverse direction to convey the recording medium, and when the rear end of the back surface of the recording medium passes through the conveying roller 2, the relay roller 20 causes the leading edge of the recording medium to pass the position detected by the paper sensor 19 and abut against the conveying roller 2 (see Figure 4(c)). In this way, by abutting the leading edge of the recording medium against the conveying roller 2, the skew of the recording medium is corrected. Then, the conveying roller 2 is rotated in the forward direction, and the recording medium passes through the conveying roller 2, following the path indicated by the arrow σ in Figure 4(d), thereby recording on the back surface of the recording medium. This series of operations makes it possible to print on both sides of the recording medium with a single paper feed operation from the paper feed roller 1 (see Figure 4(d)).

[0019] 5(a) and (b) are diagrams showing a flatbed scanner 521 that performs a reading operation in the liquid ejection device 50. In the reading operation, the reading unit 61 starts to move in the X direction by the scanner motor 206 (see FIG. 2) as shown in FIG. 5(a), and then, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the reading unit 61 moves to the end to read image information of the document.

[0020] 6(a) to 6(d) are cross-sectional views showing a medium transport path in the ADF scanner unit 522 of the liquid ejection device 50. In a reading operation, a document is fed from the reading paper feed unit 70 along the path indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6(a), and is transported by the reading paper feed roller 72 to just before the reading unit 71 indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6(b). Thereafter, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6(c), the document passes through the reading unit 71, thereby reading the image on the document. When multiple documents are loaded in the reading paper feed unit 70, the subsequent document is fed before the preceding document passes through the reading unit 71 and is loaded on the reading paper discharge unit 73, as shown in FIG. 6(d).

[0021] Fig. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between current [A] and torque [Nm] in the motor used in the liquid ejection device 50. Fig. 8 is a graph showing the power consumption of the conveyance motor 205, carriage motor 204, scanner motor 206, ADF motor 207, and other power consumption components, as well as the total power consumption when multiple motors are driven simultaneously. In FIG. 8, (a) shows a state other than when tilt correction is performed during transport during a recording operation, (b) shows when tilt correction is performed during transport during a recording operation (without exclusive processing), and (c) shows when tilt correction is performed during a recording operation (with exclusive processing). The liquid ejection device 50 employs DC motors for the transport motor 205, carriage motor 204, scanner motor 206, and ADF motor 207 to meet the demands for low cost and high stopping accuracy. As shown in FIG. 7, DC motors have a nearly linear relationship between torque and current value. That is, when a large torque is generated, the current value also increases accordingly. Because the power consumption of a motor is proportional to the square of the current flowing through the motor, a large current results in a large power consumption. In FIG. 8, the power of the transport motor 205 is shown both during normal operation and during tilt correction operation.

[0022] When correcting the tilt of the recording medium during transport during a recording operation, a large torque is required to rotate the transport roller 2. Therefore, a large torque is required for the transport motor 205 that drives the transport roller 2. During normal operation, as shown in FIG. 8(a), even when recording and reading operations are performed simultaneously, the total power consumption is less than the power supply capacity. However, as shown in FIG. 8(b), when correcting the tilt of the recording medium, the torque required for the transport motor 205 increases. In this case, if the power consumption of the transport motor 205 increases and the total power consumption increases, it may exceed the power supply capacity and cause the power supply to stop outputting due to a power shortage.

[0023] Therefore, in this embodiment, when a predetermined operation that consumes a lot of power, such as a tilt correction operation, is performed, exclusive control is performed between the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52. The example shown in (c) of Figure 8 shows a case where, when a predetermined operation that consumes a lot of power is performed in the recording operation, power is allocated to the recording operation by restricting the reading operation. In this way, by performing exclusive control between the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52, the total power consumption can be kept below the power supply capacity, and sufficient power can be allocated to each operation.

[0024] Here, reference is made again to Figure 4. In the liquid ejection device 50, double-sided conveyance is performed through the operations shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(d). When the leading edge of the recording medium is abutted against the conveyance roller 2 to correct tilt as shown in Figure 4(c), the relay roller 20 operates to further convey the recording medium in the conveyance direction while the leading edge is abutting (contacting) the conveyance roller 2. In the path where the recording medium makes a U-turn near the relay roller 20, the contact area between the recording medium and the conveyance path increases, and the resistance (friction) acting on the recording medium increases. Alternatively, the bending reaction force of the recording medium increases.

[0025] In this state, a large torque is required to rotate the relay roller 20. Therefore, a large torque is required for the conveyance motor 205, which simultaneously drives the conveyance roller 2 and the relay roller 20. If the conveyance motor 205 does not generate sufficient torque during this operation, the tilt correction of the recording medium will be insufficient, and recording on the back side of the recording medium will be performed while the recording medium is tilted, which is undesirable. Therefore, during the tilt correction operation shown in FIG. 4(c), the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52 are mutually exclusive, as shown in FIG. 8(c), so that the operation of the reading unit 52 is restricted and power is allocated to the conveyance motor 204. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8(c'), the reading unit 52 may be restricted to operate with reduced power consumption, and the ADF motor's power consumption may be reduced compared to normal operation and power allocated to the conveyance motor 204. After the operation of the recording unit 51 to correct the tilt is completed, the exclusive control is released, and the parallel operation of the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52 resumes.

[0026] While the above describes a case where the reading operation is restricted when the recording unit 51 is performing tilt correction, the reverse is also possible. For example, if a double-sided printing command is input while a reading operation is already in progress, the recording operation can be resumed after waiting for the reading operation for one page to be completed. This enables exclusive control of the reading operation and the high-power-consumption operation by the recording unit 51, allowing sufficient power to be allocated to each operation, and because the reading operation and recording operation are performed in parallel, there is no risk of impairing the operability.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the document reading process in this embodiment. As described above, in this embodiment, the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52 are operated in parallel, and exclusive control is performed between the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52, while the recording unit 51 performs operations that consume a lot of power. FIG. 9 describes the control (exclusive control) that prevents the recording unit 51 from performing operations that consume a lot of power while the ADF scanner unit 522 is operating. The document reading process in this embodiment will be described below using the flowchart in FIG. 9. The series of processes shown in FIG. 9 are performed by the MPU 201 of the liquid ejection device 50 loading program code stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 9 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or electronic circuit. Note that the symbol "S" in the description of each process indicates a step in the flowchart.

[0028] When the document reading process starts, the MPU 201 determines in S901 whether the exclusive control of the recording unit 51 has ended. Here, exclusive control of the recording unit 51 refers to restricting the operation of the reading unit 52, including the ADF scanner unit 522, when the recording unit 51 temporarily performs an operation that consumes a lot of power, as described above. The "start" and "end" of exclusive control may be determined, for example, by using a flag indicating whether exclusive control is in progress. The MPU 201 repeats the process of S901 while exclusive control of the recording unit 51 is being performed. During this time, the MPU 201 performs an operation in the recording unit 51 that consumes a lot of power. When the exclusive control of the recording unit 51 has ended, i.e., when the operation in the recording unit 51 that consumes a lot of power has ended (S901: Yes), the MPU 201 proceeds to S902.

[0029] In step S902, the MPU 201 starts exclusive control of the reading unit 52. Here, the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 is a control paired with the exclusive control of the recording unit 51 described above, and is a control that restricts the operation of the recording unit 51 when the reading unit 52 is operated.

[0030] In S903, the MPU 201 feeds one of the documents loaded in the reading paper feed unit 70 to the ADF scanner unit 522 as shown in FIG. 7(a). In S904, the MPU 201 transports the document fed in S903 through the document transport path of the ADF scanner unit 522 as shown in FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c). Then, as the document passes over the reading sensor 61, the MPU 201 reads the document image. In S905, the MPU 201 determines whether a subsequent document is loaded in the reading paper feed unit 70. A sensor (not shown) mounted on the reading paper feed unit 70 may be used, for example, to confirm whether a document is loaded. If a subsequent document is loaded (S905: No), the MPU 201 proceeds to S909. If there are no subsequent documents stacked (S905: Yes), that is, if all the stacked documents have been read, the MPU 201 proceeds to S906.

[0031] When the process proceeds to S909, the MPU 201 determines whether or not there is a request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51. Here, a request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51 is a request issued when the recording unit 51 performs an operation (tilt correction) that temporarily consumes a large amount of power. If there is a request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51 (S909: No), the MPU 201 proceeds to S906. If there is no request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51 (S909: Yes), the MPU 201 proceeds to S910.

[0032] In S910, the MPU 201 ejects the document scanned in S904 from the ADF scanner unit 522 to the scanning paper ejection unit 73, as shown in FIG. 6(d). The MPU 201 also simultaneously feeds one of the documents stacked in the scanning paper feed unit 70 to the ADF scanner unit 522. By simultaneously performing the document ejection operation and the subsequent document feed operation in this manner, the time required to scan multiple documents can be reduced. The MPU 201 then returns to S904 and reads the image of the subsequent document. Therefore, if multiple documents are stacked in the scanning paper feed unit 70 and there is no request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51, the MPU 201 repeats S904 to S910, continuously reading the images of multiple documents in sequence.

[0033] In S906, the MPU 201 discharges the document read in S904 to the read document discharge unit 73. Unlike S910, the discharge here does not feed the subsequent document.

[0034] In S907, the MPU 201 ends the exclusive control of the reading unit 52. If the operation of the recording unit 51 has been restricted due to the exclusive control of the reading unit 52, the MPU 201 resumes the operation of the recording unit 51 and performs exclusive control of the recording unit 51 (details will be described later).

[0035] In S908, the MPU 201 determines whether or not a subsequent document is loaded on the reading paper feed unit 70, similarly to S905. If a subsequent document is loaded (S908: No), the MPU 201 returns to S901 and repeats the process, and while exclusive control of the recording unit 51 is being performed, the MPU 201 restricts the operation of the reading unit 52 in S901.

[0036] On the other hand, in S908, if there are no subsequent documents stacked (S908: Yes), that is, if all the stacked documents have been read, the MPU 201 ends the document reading process.

[0037] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a double-sided recording process in which the recording unit 51 performs a recording operation on both the front and back sides of a recording medium. The double-sided recording process in this embodiment will be described below using the flowchart in FIG. 10. The series of processes shown in FIG. 10 are performed by the MPU 201 of the liquid ejection device 50 by loading program code stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing it. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 10 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or electronic circuit. Note that the symbol "S" in the description of each process indicates a step in the flowchart.

[0038] In S1001, the MPU 201 feeds one of the recording media loaded in the paper feed unit 6 to the platen 31 via the path shown in FIG. 4A for front-side recording. When feeding, the MPU 201 corrects the tilt by abutting the leading edge of the recording medium against the transport roller 2. At this time, the torque required by the transport motor 204 for front-side recording, i.e., the power consumption by the transport motor 204, is smaller than that required for tilt correction for back-side recording after inversion, which will be described later, and parallel operation with the reading unit 52 is possible. Therefore, when performing front-side recording, the MPU 201 does not perform exclusive control between the recording unit 51 and the reading unit 52.

[0039] In step S1002, the MPU 201 records an image on the surface of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as the first surface). The MPU 201 causes the conveying roller 2 to convey the recording medium on the platen 31, moves the carriage 5 in the X direction in FIG. 4A, and ejects ink from the recording head 4.

[0040] In S1003, the MPU 201 performs a front-to-back inversion process to invert the recording medium as shown in Figures 4(b) and 4(c). Details of the front-to-back inversion process in S1003 will be described later using Figure 11. In S1004, the MPU 201 records an image on the back side of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as the second side). The recording operation is performed in the same manner as in S1002, along the path shown in Figure 4(d). In S1105, the MPU 201 ejects the recording medium, on which recording on both sides has been completed, to the recording ejection unit, thereby completing the double-sided recording process.

[0041] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the front / back reversal process in this embodiment. This process is the process in S1003 of the flowchart in Fig. 10. The symbol "S" in the explanation of each process indicates a step in the flowchart.

[0042] When the reverse process starts, in S1101, the MPU 201 pulls the recording medium into the reverse path shown in Figure 4(b). The MPU 201 pulls the recording medium into the reverse path by rotating the conveyance roller 2 in the reverse direction (opposite to the arrow α in Figure 4(a)). Then, before the leading edge of the reversed recording medium reaches the paper sensor 19, the MPU 201 stops the rotation of the conveyance roller 2 at the position shown in Figure 4(b).

[0043] In S1102, the MPU 201 requests exclusive control of the recording unit 51. As described above, the tilt correction operation for recording on the second side after inversion temporarily increases the power consumption of the carry motor 204. Therefore, the MPU 201 requests a restriction on the operation of the reading unit 52 before performing the tilt correction operation so that sufficient power can be supplied to the carry motor 204.

[0044] In S1103, the MPU 201 determines whether the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 has ended. The MPU 201 repeatedly executes the process of S1103 while the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 is being performed (S1103: No). At this time, in response to a request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51, the MPU 201 ends the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 when the document currently being read has been discharged, as shown in S907. If the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 has ended (S1103: Yes), the MPU 201 proceeds to S1104.

[0045] In S1104, the MPU 201 starts exclusive control of the recording unit 51. This exclusive control of the recording unit 51 restricts the operation of the reading unit 52, making it possible to allocate sufficient power to the operation of the recording unit 51. In S1105, the MPU 201 rotates the conveyance roller 2 in the reverse direction (rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow α in FIG. 4(a)), and then rotates the relay roller 20 in the forward direction, causing the leading edge of the recording medium to abut against the conveyance roller 2 as shown in FIG. 4(c), thereby correcting the skew of the recording medium. As described above, this requires a large torque from the conveyance motor 204. Therefore, the MPU 201 allocates sufficient power to this operation through exclusive control of the recording unit 51, and then performs the skew correction.

[0046] In S1106, the MPU 201 ends the exclusive control of the recording unit 51. If the operation of the reading unit 52 has been restricted due to the exclusive control of the recording unit 51, the MPU 201 resumes the operation of the reading unit 52, as shown in S902 of Fig. 9. In S1107, the MPU 201 rotates the conveying roller 2 in the forward direction (in the direction of arrow α in Fig. 4(a)), conveys the recording medium toward the platen 31 as shown in Fig. 4(d), and ends the front / back reversal process.

[0047] Up to this point, the processes shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 have been individually described, assuming that a read command and a print command are input separately. However, a copy command may also be input to a liquid ejection device equipped with a reading unit 52 and a recording unit 51, such as the present embodiment. In this case, the MPU 201 records the image read by the reading unit 52 in the recording unit 51. In this case, the processes shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 may be performed in conjunction with each other. Below, a series of operations for a double-sided copying operation in this embodiment, in which multiple originals are copied onto both the front and back sides of a recording medium, will be described using FIGS. 9 to 11. A user of the liquid ejection device 50 loads multiple originals into the reading paper feed unit 70 and a recording medium into the paper feed unit 6, and then operates the operation and display unit 211, thereby allowing the MPU 201 to perform the double-sided copying operation.

[0048] In a double-sided copying operation, first, an original document reading operation is started by the ADF scanner unit 522 shown in Fig. 6. At the start of a double-sided copying operation, exclusive control of the recording unit 51 is not performed, so the MPU 201 proceeds to S902 and subsequent steps. If the first original document image can be read in the processing up to S904, the MPU 201 starts double-sided recording processing by the recording unit 51 shown in Fig. 10. As long as an original document remains in the reading paper feed unit 70 and there is no request for exclusive control of the recording unit 51, the MPU 201 repeatedly executes steps S904 to S910 to continuously read multiple original document images.

[0049] When the double-sided recording operation of Fig. 10 is started, the MPU 201 performs recording on the first side of the recording medium in steps S1001 to S1002. Then, after the recording medium is pulled into the reverse path in step S1101 of Fig. 11, the MPU 201 requests exclusive control of the recording unit 51 in step S1102. At this time, in the document reading operation of Fig. 9, the MPU 201 proceeds to step S906 based on the determination in step S909, interrupts continuous reading of document images, and ends the exclusive control by the reading unit 52 in step S907. In this way, when performing a recording operation, exclusive control of the recording unit 51 can be requested even while the reading operation is being performed, and accordingly, the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 is ended at an appropriate timing, such as when reading of one page is completed.

[0050] When the exclusive control of the reading unit 52 ends, in the reverse side reversal process of FIG. 11, the MPU 201 proceeds from S1103 to S1104 and starts exclusive control of the recording unit 51. Then, in the document reading operation of FIG. 9, the MPU 201 waits for the end of the exclusive control in S901. Therefore, with the operation of the reading unit 52 restricted, the MPU 201 can perform the tilt correction in S1105 of FIG. 11, which consumes a lot of power. When the exclusive control of the recording unit 51 ends in S1106, the MPU 201 proceeds to S902 and subsequent steps in FIG. 9 and resumes the document reading process. Meanwhile, the MPU 201 proceeds with the reverse side reversal process of FIG. 11. When the reverse side reversal process of FIG. 11 ends, the MPU 201 performs the recording operation on the second side of the recording medium in S1004 of FIG. 10.

[0051] The double-sided recording operation in Fig. 10 is performed once for each recording medium (two sides, front and back), depending on the progress of the operation of reading multiple originals in Fig. 9. When all the originals loaded on the reading paper feed unit 70 have been read, the MPU 201 ends the original reading process in Fig. 9. When all the original images have been recorded on the recording medium, the MPU 201 ends the double-sided copying operation.

[0052] In this embodiment, the operation of the reading unit 52 is restricted in the exclusive control of the recording unit 51. The term "restriction" here includes stopping the operation of the reading unit 52, operating the reading unit 52 while reducing its power consumption, and a combination thereof.

[0053] In this way, the tilt correction operation performed by abutting the recording medium against the conveying roller 2 in the recording unit 51 and the operation of the reading unit 52 are exclusively controlled. This makes it possible to provide a liquid ejection device and a method for controlling a liquid ejection device that can reduce power consumption without impairing the operability.

[0054] (Other embodiments) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that the basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

[0055] In the first embodiment, an example has been shown in which the document reading operation by the ADF scanner unit 522 and the tilt correction of the recording medium during the front-to-back reversal operation by the recording unit 51 are exclusively controlled. However, the objects of exclusive control are not limited to this. For example, the document reading operation by the flatbed scanner unit 521 may also be exclusively controlled. Furthermore, other operations by the recording unit 51 (not limited to the transport operation) may also be exclusively controlled.

[0056] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example of control has been shown in which an operation that consumes a lot of power is performed during a recording operation in the recording unit 51, and exclusive control is performed with respect to the reading unit 52. However, this is not limiting, and exclusive control with respect to the recording unit 51 may be performed for an operation that consumes a lot of power in the reading unit 52. In other words, when one of the recording unit and the reading unit performs a predetermined operation that consumes a lot of power, control may be performed to restrict the operation of the other unit.

[0057] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configurations and methods.

[0058] (Configuration 1) a recording unit that records an image on a recording medium; a reading unit that reads an image of a document; a control unit for controlling the recording unit and the reading unit; Equipped with The liquid ejection device, wherein the control means limits the operation of either the recording unit or the reading unit during a period when the other unit is performing a predetermined operation that consumes a large amount of power.

[0059] (Configuration 2) the recording unit has an ejection head that ejects a liquid, and a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the ejection head; The liquid ejection device according to configuration 1, wherein the predetermined operation is a tilt correction operation that performs recording on a first side of a recording medium, turns the recording medium over by the conveying means, and then corrects the tilt of the recording medium before recording on a second side, which is the reverse side of the first side.

[0060] (Configuration 3) 3. The liquid ejection device according to configuration 2, wherein the control unit limits the operation of the reading unit during a period in which the recording unit performs the tilt correction operation.

[0061] (Configuration 4) 4. The liquid ejection device according to configuration 3, wherein the restriction on the operation of the reading unit includes stopping the operation and operating the reading unit while reducing power consumption.

[0062] (Configuration 5) the conveying means includes a conveying roller for conveying the recording medium and a relay roller for conveying the recording medium after inverting the recording medium, both of which are driven by the same motor; 3. The liquid ejection device according to configuration 2, wherein in the tilt correction operation, the relay roller conveys the recording medium, thereby bringing the leading edge of the recording medium into contact with the conveyance roller.

[0063] (Configuration 6) 6. The liquid ejection device according to configuration 5, wherein the motor is an AC motor or a DC motor.

[0064] (Configuration 7) 7. The liquid ejection device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the reading unit is an ADF scanner capable of continuously reading a plurality of pages of a document.

[0065] (Configuration 8) 7. The liquid ejection device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the reading unit is a flatbed scanner that reads a fixed document.

[0066] (Method 1) a recording unit that records an image on a recording medium; a reading unit that reads an image of a document; A method for controlling a liquid ejection device comprising: A control method for a liquid ejection device, characterized in that in a control process for controlling the recording unit and the reading unit, the operation of one of the recording unit and the reading unit is restricted during a period in which the other unit performs a predetermined operation that consumes a large amount of power. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 19 Paper sensor 50 Liquid dispensing device 51 Recording Section 52 Reading unit 201 MPU 205 Transport motor 521 Flatbed Scanner Unit 522 ADF scanner unit

Claims

1. a recording unit that records an image on a recording medium; a reading unit that reads an image of a document; a control unit for controlling the recording unit and the reading unit; Equipped with The liquid ejection device, wherein the control means limits the operation of either the recording unit or the reading unit during a period when the other unit is performing a predetermined operation that consumes a large amount of power.

2. the recording unit has an ejection head that ejects a liquid, and a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the ejection head; The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation is an inclination correction operation in which recording is performed on a first side of a recording medium, the recording medium is turned over by the conveying means, and then the inclination of the recording medium is corrected before recording on a second side, which is the reverse side of the first side.

3. 3. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit limits the operation of the reading unit during a period in which the recording unit performs the tilt correction operation.

4. The liquid ejection device according to claim 3 , wherein the restriction on the operation of the reading unit includes stopping the operation and operating the reading unit with reduced power consumption.

5. the conveying means includes a conveying roller for conveying the recording medium and a relay roller for conveying the recording medium after inverting the recording medium, both of which are driven by the same motor; The liquid ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein in the tilt correction operation, the relay roller conveys the recording medium, thereby bringing the leading edge of the recording medium into contact with the conveyance roller.

6. 6. The liquid ejection device according to claim 5, wherein the motor is an AC motor or a DC motor.

7. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the reading unit is an ADF scanner capable of continuously reading a plurality of pages of an original.

8. 2. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit is a flatbed scanner that reads a document while the document is fixed.

9. a recording unit that records an image on a recording medium; a reading unit that reads an image of a document; A method for controlling a liquid ejection device comprising: A control method for a liquid ejection device, characterized in that in a control process for controlling the recording unit and the reading unit, the operation of one of the recording unit and the reading unit is restricted during a period in which the other unit performs a predetermined operation that consumes a large amount of power.

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