Recording device and control method for recording device

Abstract

Properly determine the carriage's position. [Solution] The recording device includes a carriage on which a recording head that ejects ink onto a recording medium is mounted; an encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage; a position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder; means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection at the recording head based on the value of the position counter; means for holding the value of the position counter corresponding to a position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information; and means for updating the position counter based on the reference position information when the value of the position counter is abnormal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for specifying the position of a carriage of a recording apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] A recording apparatus that records an image by an inkjet method is known. The recording apparatus performs recording by scanning a carriage mounted with a recording head and ejecting ink from the recording head onto a recording medium. In the recording apparatus, when scanning the carriage, position information of the carriage is acquired by reading an encoder arranged in the main scanning direction with an optical sensor. The recording apparatus determines ejection timing from the recording head based on the acquired position information, and ejects ink from the recording head.

[0003] When an abnormality occurs in an encoder signal obtained from an encoder, unintended ink ejection may occur, and as a result, there is a risk that an image defect may occur. Patent Document 1 discloses a correction technique when an abnormality occurs in an encoder signal. In Patent Document 1, if an encoder analysis unit determines that there is an abnormality in the encoder signal after scanning the carriage, a correction condition for one scan of the carriage is determined based on information related to the encoder signal period for one scan of the carriage. Further, Patent Document 1 describes that when executing the next print job, scanning of the carriage and ejection of ink from the recording head are controlled based on the correction condition.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problem to be Solved by Invention

[0005] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for correcting encoder signals starting from the next print job. Therefore, it cannot address image defects caused by sudden noise.

[0006] This disclosure aims to appropriately identify the location of the carriage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A recording device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is characterized by comprising: a carriage on which a recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium is mounted; an encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage; a position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder; means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection at the recording head based on the value of the position counter; means for holding the value of the position counter corresponding to a position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information; and means for updating the position counter based on the reference position information when the value of the position counter is abnormal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, the position of the carriage can be appropriately determined. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is an external perspective view showing an overview of the recording device. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the recording device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a schematic circuit configuration for a recording device. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of an encoder signal from an encoder and a position counter. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of the operation when the scanner unit cover is closed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure, and not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are necessarily essential to the solutions of this disclosure. The same reference numerals are used for identical components. Furthermore, the relative arrangements, shapes, etc., of the components described in the embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure to them alone.

[0011] In the following description of the embodiments, "recording" includes not only cases where meaningful information such as characters and figures is formed, but also cases where images, patterns, and other designs are formed on the sheet. Furthermore, although a roll sheet is assumed as the sheet in this embodiment, it may be cut paper, cloth, or plastic film, etc. In addition, "ink" should be interpreted broadly and refers to a liquid that can be applied to the sheet to form images, patterns, or other designs, or to process the sheet, or to treat the ink.

[0012] <<First Embodiment>> Figure 1 is an external perspective view showing an overview of the inkjet recording device (hereinafter referred to as the recording device) 11 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the recording device 11 comprises a main body 20 which is a housing, a recording head 13 (see Figure 2) which performs recording operations on a recording medium (not shown), and an ink tank 15 which serves as an ink storage container for storing ink supplied to the recording head 13. In this embodiment, the ink tank 15 is located on the front of the main body 20. In addition, the upper part of the main body 20 is equipped with a scanner unit 17 which performs document reading operations and an operation input unit 18 which allows the user to input commands and perform other operations.

[0013] The scanner unit 17 is positioned on top of the main body 20 and is an opening / closing part that can be opened and closed in the direction of arrow D1 relative to the main body 20. The scanner unit 17 also functions as a cover member that covers the inside of the main body 20, and by opening the scanner unit 17, the user can access the inside of the main body 20. In other words, the scanner unit 17 is also an access cover that allows the user to access the inside of the main body 20.

[0014] The operation input unit 18 includes, for example, a power key. The user can issue power-on and power-off commands to the recording device 11 by operating the power key. By operating the power key, the recording device 11 switches between a power-on state (soft-on state) and a power-off state (soft-off state).

[0015] Multiple ink tanks 15 for storing ink are provided at the front (+Y direction side) of the main body 20. Each ink tank 15 stores a different type of ink. For example, each ink tank 15 stores ink of a different color. The user can refill the ink in the ink tanks 15 by opening the scanner unit 17. When the scanner unit 17 is opened, the carriage 12 (see Figure 2) moves to a position where the recording head 13 can be replaced.

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of the recording device 11. The main body 20 of the recording device 11 is equipped with various mechanisms used for recording. Examples of these mechanisms are described below. The main body 20 includes a recording head 13, a feeding unit 50 for feeding the recording medium, a transport roller 16 for transporting the recording medium, a transport motor 201 for driving the transport roller 16, and an discharge unit 40 (see Figure 1) for discharging the recording medium. The transport roller 16 is driven by the transport motor 201 via a gear (not shown). The recording medium is fed from the feeding unit 50 into the recording device 11 by the roller (not shown). The fed recording medium is transported by the transport roller 16 while the recording operation is performed by the recording head 13. The recording medium, once recording is complete, is discharged to the outside of the recording device 11 from the discharge unit 40. The recording device 11 also includes a maintenance unit 19 for the recording head 13, a main chassis 21, a timing belt 22, and a carriage motor 204.

[0017] The carriage 12 is supported by the main chassis 21 and driven by the carriage motor 204 via the timing belt 22, moving along the main scanning direction (X direction) which intersects the transport direction (Y direction) of the recording medium. In this embodiment, the transport direction and the main scanning direction are orthogonal. The recording head 13 is mounted on the carriage 12 and performs a recording operation to record one band of image on the recording medium by ejecting ink droplets while moving in the main scanning direction. Once one band of image is recorded on the recording medium, the recording medium is transported by the transport rollers 16 by a predetermined amount in the transport direction (called intermittent transport operation). By repeating this one-band recording operation and intermittent transport operation, the entire recording medium is covered with an image.

[0018] A maintenance unit 19 is provided at one end of the movement range of the carriage 12. The maintenance unit 19 maintains and recovers the liquid ejection performance of the recording head 13. In the recording head 13, nozzle clogging may occur, for example, when there is a long period during which no ink is ejected. A recovery operation is performed periodically to address such performance degradation of the recording head 13. The maintenance unit 19 includes, for example, a capping member that caps the ejection surface of the recording head 13, and a pump that sucks liquid from the recording head 13 through the capping member. Capping can suppress drying of the nozzles. Ink with increased viscosity can be discharged from the nozzles by suction through the pump.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic circuit configuration of the recording apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment. The recording apparatus 11 is connected to an external input device 100 such as a PC, an HDD, or a smartphone. A CPU 101 is a CPU for controlling the entire printer system. An ASIC 102 performs printer-specific hardware control. The ASIC 102 includes an external interface (IF) circuit 103, a CPU interface circuit 104, a memory control circuit 105, and an SRAM 106. The ASIC 102 further includes an image data processing circuit 107, an ejection image generation circuit 108, a head drive control circuit 109, a transfer timing control circuit 110, and an apparatus main body drive circuit 111.

[0020] The operation of the internal circuits of the ASIC 102 will be described. The external interface circuit 103 is connected to the external input device 100. The external interface circuit 103 may include an interface circuit connected to an external input device, such as a USB interface circuit, a wireless communication interface circuit, a LAN interface circuit, or an IDE interface circuit. The CPU interface circuit 104 is connected to the CPU 101, and controls communication of each block in the ASIC 102 based on instructions from the CPU 101.

[0021] The memory control circuit 105 is connected to an external IF circuit 103, an SRAM 106, an image data processing circuit 107, an ejection image generation circuit 108, a head drive control circuit 109, an SROM 112, and a DDR 113. The memory control circuit 105 transfers image data input from the external input device 100 to the SRAM 106. The memory control circuit 105 also performs read and write control for programs and various parameters to the SROM 112, and read and write control for data to the SRAM 106 and the DDR 113. The SRAM 106 is a work buffer, in which print image data is divided into a specific size and stored. As the SRAM 106, a number of SRAMs 106 corresponding to the number of ink colors to be ejected or the number of nozzles may be provided.

[0022] The image data processing circuit 107 performs image processing on the image data stored in the SRAM 106. Examples of the image processing include, but are not limited to, boundary processing, edge processing, HV (horizontal vertical) conversion, smoothing, and non-ejection interpolation. The ejection image generation circuit 108 converts the image data that has completed image processing into data in a format matching the nozzles of the recording head 13 (hereinafter referred to as ejection image data).

[0023] The transfer timing control circuit 110 generates a transfer timing signal for ejection image data by multiplying a signal input from an encoder 206. The head drive control circuit 109 transfers the ejection image data together with a drive pulse as an ejection signal to the recording head 13 at the timing of the transfer timing signal, and drives the recording head 13.

[0024] The DDR 113 is a reception buffer externally attached to the ASIC 102. The DDR 113 stores image data that has undergone image correction processing. The apparatus main body drive circuit 111 generates control signals for driving a conveyance motor 201 and a carriage motor 204 based on signals from the encoder 206. The apparatus main body drive circuit 111 acquires each detection result from various sensors (not shown) including the encoder 206.

[0025] The encoder 206 is, for example, a rotary encoder, which converts the mechanical displacement of rotation into an electrical signal and outputs it. The recording device 11 is configured to process the encoder signal output from the encoder 206 to detect the position of the carriage 12. In this embodiment, the encoder 206 generates two pulses with different phases. These two pulses are called the A-phase signal and the B-phase signal. The direction of rotation, i.e., the direction of movement of the carriage 12, is determined by which of the A-phase and B-phase pulses rises first.

[0026] Figure 4 shows an example of the relationship between the encoder signal from the encoder 206 and the position counter in this embodiment. Figure 4(a) is a timing chart showing the relationship between the encoder signal and the position counter under normal conditions. Figure 4(b) is a timing chart showing the relationship between the encoder signal and the position counter when affected by noise.

[0027] First, the relationship between the encoder signal and the position counter under normal conditions will be explained using Figure 4(a). In this embodiment, there are two counters as position counters. The servo control position counter C1 is used to control the movement of the carriage 12. The ejection control position counter C2 is used to control the ejection of ink from the recording head 13. The servo control position counter C1 is provided in the transfer timing control circuit 110. The ejection control position counter C2 is provided in the head drive control circuit 109.

[0028] The encoder A-phase signal and encoder B-phase signal are input from encoder 206 to transfer timing control circuit 110. The value of the servo control position counter C1 is generated by the transfer timing control circuit 110 based on the encoder A-phase signal and encoder B-phase signal. The number of bits required for the servo control position counter C1 is determined based on the main unit size and resolution. In this embodiment, the servo control position counter C1 is assumed to be 32 bits.

[0029] In this embodiment, the servo control position counter C1 is configured in the transfer timing control circuit 110 to count up on the rising or falling edge of encoder phase A and encoder phase B. The count-up configuration can be arbitrarily set, and it is also possible to use only one phase signal of the encoder, or to use only the rising edge, etc.

[0030] The initial value of the ejection control position counter C2 is generated by the head drive control circuit 109 based on the servo control position counter C1, taking into account the number of ink ejections. Since the ejection control position counter C2 is used to control the ejection of ink from the recording head 13, it requires a higher resolution than the resolution used in the servo control position counter C1. Therefore, the resolution used in the ejection control position counter C2 is a multiplier of the resolution of the servo control position counter C1. In this embodiment, the ejection control position counter C2 is set to be 8 times the resolution of the servo control position counter C1. If an encoder sensor with a resolution of 150 dpi is used, in this embodiment, the resolution of the servo control position counter C1 will be 600 dpi, and the resolution of the ejection control position counter C2 will be 4800 dpi.

[0031] The initial position of the carriage 12 can be any position. For example, the initial position may be the position where the recording head 13 is capped by the maintenance unit 19, or the position where the recording head 13 is replaced. The initial position of the carriage 12 is set by writing an arbitrary value from the CPU 101 to the servo control position counter C1. Simultaneously with the writing of this arbitrary value to the servo control position counter C1, the same value is written to the upper bit of the ejection control position counter C2, and the ink ejection count is cleared. To speed up processing, the ejection control position counter C2 is configured to count based on encoder edge information input from the transfer timing control circuit 110. That is, until another arbitrary value is written from the CPU 101 to the servo control position counter C1 as the initial position of the carriage 12, the ejection control position counter C2 counts based on encoder edge information input from the transfer timing control circuit 110. As described above, edge information in this embodiment refers to the rising edge signal and the falling edge signal.

[0032] Next, the relationship between the encoder signal and the position counter when affected by noise will be explained using Figure 4(b). Here, let's assume that the encoder A-phase signal is affected by noise. Specifically, as shown at timing T, when the servo control position counter C1 is 0x0000_0003, let's assume that the encoder A-phase signal is affected by noise and the rising edge signal of the A-phase signal is input to the transfer timing control circuit 110. As shown in Figure 4(a), the servo control position counter C1 is designed to count up when the encoder A-phase signal is 0 during the falling edge of the encoder B-phase signal when the signal is 0. However, if the encoder A-phase signal is affected by noise, as a result, when the servo control position counter C1 is 0x0000_0003, as shown at timing T, the servo control position counter C1 may mistakenly recognize this as the rising edge of the encoder A-phase signal. As described above, the direction of movement of the carriage 12 is determined based on which pulse, the A-phase signal or the B-phase signal, rises first. Therefore, the servo control position counter C1 mistakenly recognizes the rise of the encoder A-phase signal at timing T as a change in direction. As a result, the servo control position counter C1 perceives a reversal of direction and, after timing T, counts down instead of counting up. However, the ejection control position counter C2 does not anticipate a change in direction during ejection control and is configured to count based on encoder edge information input from the transfer timing control circuit 110. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4(b), the ejection control position counter C2 does not count properly after timing T. In other words, because an unintended pattern is input as encoder edge information, the ejection control position counter C2 does not count up and then restarts counting based on the encoder edge information that is input correctly afterward, causing the position to shift. That is, the correlation between the servo control position counter C1 and the ejection control position counter C2 is broken. If ejection is performed in this counter state, ejection may occur at a position different from what was expected, which may affect the image. In addition, the carriage 12 may not stop at the correct position.

[0033] Such noise interference to the encoder signal can mainly occur when noise enters the recording device 11 when the scanner unit 17 is opened. For example, let's assume that the position indicated by timing T in Figure 4(b) is the position where the carriage 12 has stopped at the exchange position, based on the opening of the scanner unit 17. In this state, if the system mistakenly recognizes the rising edge of the encoder A-phase signal as being input due to noise interference, the servo control position counter C1 will mistakenly recognize that the direction has reversed and will count down, even though the carriage 12 has not actually moved. On the other hand, the ejection control position counter C2 will not count, resulting in a breakdown in the correlation between the servo control position counter C1 and the ejection control position counter C2.

[0034] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the scanner unit 17 when the cover is closed in this embodiment. In this embodiment, as described above, it is assumed that when the scanner unit 17 is opened, noise enters the inside of the recording device 11, affecting the encoder signal and causing an abnormal value to be written to the position counter. Therefore, Figure 5 describes the operation flow when the cover is closed, including the process of correcting the position counter value to a normal value when the scanner unit 17 is closed. Note that, as will be described later, the position counter correction process in this embodiment is not limited to when the cover of the scanner unit 17 is closed. The operation of the flowchart shown in Figure 5 is started when the recording device 11 detects the closing of the scanner unit 17 cover by a cover sensor (not shown). Note that, as described above, when the scanner unit 17 is opened, the carriage 12 moves to a replaceable position in which the recording head 13 can be replaced. That is, when the flowchart shown in Figure 5 is started, the carriage 12 is stopped in the replaceable position in which the recording head 13 can be replaced.

[0035] In S501, the recording device 11 determines whether or not the recording head 13 is installed. If the recording head 13 is not installed, the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 5 ends, and the recording device 11 notifies the user that the recording head 13 is not installed. If the recording head 13 is installed, the process proceeds to S502.

[0036] In S502, the recording device 11 determines whether or not information about the recording head 13 installed in the recording device 11 is stored in the main unit. For example, this determination is made based on whether or not the ID of the recording head 13, read by the ASIC 102 via the memory control circuit 105, is stored in the SROM 112. If information about the installed recording head 13 is available, the process proceeds to S504. If information about the installed recording head 13 is not available, it is determined that the recording head has never been connected to the recording device 11, and the process proceeds to S503.

[0037] In S503, the process of writing information from the recording head 13 to the recording device 11 is performed. For example, the ASIC 102 reads the information from the recording head 13 via the memory control circuit 105 and stores it in the SROM 112. The information held by the recording head includes the type of head, non-discharge nozzle information, and manufacturing date.

[0038] In S504, the recording device 11 determines whether or not it has been initialized. Initialization of the main unit means preparing the recording mechanism of the recording device 11 for printing. Specifically, this includes ensuring that the carriage 12 can move to a predetermined position where it can recover. In addition, controlling the transport motor 201 so that there are no recording media on the transport path that transports the recording media, and ensuring that the maintenance unit 19 is in a position that does not interfere with the carriage 12 are also included in the initial initialization of the main unit. During the execution of the initial initialization of the main unit, the carriage 12 remains stopped in the replacement position.

[0039] If the device initialization process is complete, the process proceeds to S506. If the device initialization process is not complete, the process proceeds to S505. In S505, the device initialization process described above is performed. If the device initialization process is completed in S505, the process proceeds to S506.

[0040] In S506, the recording device 11 performs counter information comparison processing. This counter information comparison processing is performed, for example, by the CPU 101. In the counter information comparison processing, the servo control position counter C1 and the ejection control position counter C2 are compared. As mentioned above, if the encoder signal is affected by noise, the correlation between the servo control position counter C1 and the ejection control position counter C2 is disrupted. Specifically, as mentioned above, the ejection control position counter C2 is configured to be a multiple of the servo control position counter C1. If, as a result of comparing the counters, the ejection control position counter C2 is not a multiple of the servo control position counter C1, it is determined that the correlation is disrupted. This disruption of correlation occurs when the carriage 12 is stopped at the exchange position. If the correlation between the servo control position counter C1 and the ejection control position counter C2 is disrupted, the recording device 11 determines that recovery processing is necessary.

[0041] In S507, the recording device 11 determines whether recovery processing is necessary based on the comparison processing in S506. If it is determined that recovery processing is not necessary, the process proceeds to S509. If it is determined that recovery processing is necessary, the process proceeds to S508.

[0042] In S508, the recording device 11 performs carriage position information initialization processing. Carriage position information initialization processing is the process of initializing the position information of the carriage 12 by writing an arbitrary value from the CPU 101 to the servo control position counter C1. It is desirable to perform this processing at a position where the absolute position and the value of the servo control position counter C1 are guaranteed. The absolute position is a position where the absolute position of the carriage 12 is guaranteed. For example, the absolute position is the position where the carriage 12 is moved beyond the maintenance position and abuts against the side of the main body. Alternatively, the absolute position may be the cap position (maintenance position) where the carriage 12 is capped by the maintenance unit 19. The value of the servo control position counter C1 at these absolute positions is stored in, for example, the SROM 112 during the manufacturing process of the recording device 11. In other words, the CPU 101 initializes the position information of the carriage 12 by writing the value stored in the SROM 112 corresponding to the absolute position to the servo control position counter C1. While the abutment position and cap position were given as examples of positions where the absolute position and the value of the servo control position counter C1 are guaranteed, these are not the only examples. The positions where the absolute position and the value of the servo control position counter C1 are guaranteed can also be called the reference position when updating position information. Furthermore, the value of the servo control position counter C1 guaranteed at the absolute position (reference position) can also be called the reference position information.

[0043] In S508, the recording device 11 moves the carriage 12 to a position where the absolute position and the value of the servo control position counter C1 are guaranteed, and the CPU 101 writes an arbitrary value to the servo control position counter C1. The arbitrary value written at this time is the value of the servo control position counter C1 that is guaranteed at the position where the absolute position and the value of the servo control position counter C1 are guaranteed. Simultaneously with the writing of the arbitrary value to the servo control position counter C1 from the CPU 101, the same value is also written to the upper bits of the ejection control position counter C2, as described above. This process eliminates the difference in correlation between the two counters due to the influence of noise. After S508, the process proceeds to S509.

[0044] In S509, the recording device 11 moves the carriage 12 to the standby position. The standby position may be the same as the maintenance position, which is capped by the maintenance unit 19. If the carriage position information initialization process in S508 is performed with the maintenance position as the absolute position, then the carriage 12 does not need to move in S508. After S509, the recording device 11 completes the process shown in the flowchart in Figure 5.

[0045] As described above, this embodiment allows for the proper identification of the carriage 12's position. For example, even if the encoder signal is affected by sudden noise, it is possible to provide a proper printed document without causing image defects. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if noise occurs during cover closure, for example, the noise effect can be eliminated before the next print job is performed. Thus, in this embodiment, the position counter value is maintained while the absolute position and the position counter value are guaranteed. When it is detected that the encoder signal is affected by noise or other influences during cover opening, etc., and the position counter has become abnormal, a normal value is written to the position counter at a position where the absolute position and the position counter are correlated. For example, the carriage 12 is moved to the side of the main body and the normal value is written to the position counter when it is pressed against it. This eliminates the effect of noise.

[0046] <<Other Embodiments>> In the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which a servo control position counter C1 and a discharge control position counter C2 are used in the counter information comparison process. That is, an example was described in which an abnormality in the counter is detected based on the correlation between the servo control position counter C1 and the discharge control position counter C2. However, the counter information comparison process may be performed by other methods. For example, the information of the servo control position counter C1 and the discharge control position counter C2 while the cover is open may be kept and compared with the information of the servo control position counter C1 and the discharge control position counter C2 when the cover is closed. That is, the counter values ​​before and after the cover is opened may be compared. Then, if a difference occurs, the carriage position information initialization process may be performed. However, it is possible that the user may manually move the carriage 12 while the cover is open. In such a case, a difference will occur between the counter value when the cover is open and the counter value when the cover is closed, so it is important to note that a difference may be detected even if the difference is not due to noise or other influences. Of course, the carriage position information initialization process may also be performed if a difference is detected based on manual movement of the carriage 12 by the user.

[0047] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, since there is a high possibility of being affected by noise when the cover is open, an example was described in which the counter information comparison process and the carriage position information initialization process, which is a recovery process, are performed when the cover is closed. Here, if the CPU 101 processing allows, it is also possible to perform the counter information comparison process periodically and the carriage position information initialization process when it is determined that recovery processing is necessary. For example, when performing a recording operation based on a print job, the counter information comparison process may be performed between scans. In addition, the counter information comparison process may be performed at any other timing.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example was explained in which the carriage 12 is moved to an absolute position and the carriage position information initialization process is performed. However, if there is no condition in which factors that would cause the servo control position counter C1 to change can be rewritten without moving the carriage, the servo control position counter C1 may be rewritten. It is also possible to perform the carriage position information initialization process in this way.

[0049] The disclosure of this embodiment includes configurations represented by the following examples of recording devices and control methods for recording devices.

[0050] (Composition 1) A carriage equipped with a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium, An encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage, A position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder, means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection in the recording head based on the value of the position counter, Means for storing the value of the position counter corresponding to the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information, If the value of the position counter is abnormal, means for updating the position counter based on the reference position information, A recording device characterized by having the following features.

[0051] (Configuration 2) The recording device according to configuration 1, characterized in that the absolute position of the carriage and the position where positional information is guaranteed is the position reached when the carriage is moved until it abuts against the side surface of the main body of the recording device.

[0052] (Composition 3) The recording device according to configuration 2, wherein the means for updating the position counter is to move the carriage until it abuts against the side of the main body of the recording device, thereby updating the position counter.

[0053] (Composition 4) The recording device according to configuration 1, characterized in that the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed is the position where the recording head is capped.

[0054] (Composition 5) The recording apparatus according to configuration 4, wherein the means for updating the position counter is to move the carriage to the position where the recording head is capped, and update the position counter.

[0055] (Composition 6) The carriage further has an access cover for a user to access it, The recording device according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, characterized in that the means for updating the position counter determines whether the value of the position counter is abnormal based on the fact that the access cover has been closed.

[0056] (Composition 7) The position counter includes a position counter for servo control used for controlling the movement of the carriage and a position counter for discharge control. The recording device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, characterized in that whether the value of the position counter is abnormal is determined from the correlation between the position counter for servo control and the position counter for discharge control.

[0057] (Composition 8) The recording device according to configuration 7, characterized in that if the value of the position counter for discharge control is not a multiple of the value of the position counter for servo control, the value of the position counter is determined to be abnormal.

[0058] (Composition 9) The recording device according to configuration 6, characterized in that whether the value of the position counter is abnormal is determined from the value of the position counter before and after the access cover is opened.

[0059] (Composition 10) The recording device according to configuration 9, characterized in that if the value of the position counter is different before and after the access cover is opened, the value of the position counter is determined to be abnormal.

[0060] (Composition 11) A carriage equipped with a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium, An encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage, A position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder, means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection in the recording head based on the value of the position counter, Means for storing the value of the position counter corresponding to the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information, A control method for a recording device having, A step of detecting that the value of the position counter is abnormal, If the value of the position counter is detected to be abnormal, the step of updating the position counter based on the reference position information, A control method for a recording device, characterized by having the following features. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 11. Inkjet recording device 12 Carriage 13 Recording head 110 Transfer Timing Control Circuit 206 encoders C1 Servo control position counter C2 Discharge control position counter

Claims

1. A carriage equipped with a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium, An encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage, A position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder, means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection in the recording head based on the value of the position counter, Means for storing the value of the position counter corresponding to the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information, If the value of the position counter is abnormal, means for updating the position counter based on the reference position information, A recording device characterized by having the following features.

2. The recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that the absolute position of the carriage and the position where positional information is guaranteed is the position reached when the carriage is moved until it abuts against the side surface of the main body of the recording device.

3. The recording device according to claim 2, wherein the means for updating the position counter is to move the carriage until it abuts against the side surface of the recording device, and update the position counter.

4. The recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed is the position where the recording head is capped.

5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for updating the position counter is to move the carriage to the position where the recording head is capped, and update the position counter.

6. The carriage further has an access cover for a user to access it, The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the means for updating the position counter determines whether the value of the position counter is abnormal based on the fact that the access cover has been closed.

7. The position counter includes a position counter for servo control used for controlling the movement of the carriage and a position counter for discharge control. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that whether the value of the position counter is abnormal is determined from the correlation between the position counter for servo control and the position counter for discharge control.

8. The recording device according to claim 7, characterized in that if the value of the position counter for discharge control is not a multiple of the value of the position counter for servo control, the value of the position counter is determined to be abnormal.

9. The recording device according to claim 6, characterized in that whether the value of the position counter is abnormal is determined from the value of the position counter before and after the access cover is opened.

10. The recording device according to claim 9, characterized in that if the value of the position counter is different before and after the access cover is opened, the value of the position counter is determined to be abnormal.

11. A carriage equipped with a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium, An encoder that outputs a signal indicating the position of the carriage, A position counter that counts values ​​based on the signal output from the encoder, means for generating an ejection signal used for ejection in the recording head based on the value of the position counter, Means for storing the value of the position counter corresponding to the position where the absolute position and position information of the carriage are guaranteed as reference position information, A control method for a recording device having, A step of detecting that the value of the position counter is abnormal, If the value of the position counter is detected to be abnormal, the step of updating the position counter based on the reference position information, A control method for a recording device, characterized by having the following features.

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