JP2001071603A - Printer and power control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high speed recording with low power by optimizing power distribution of a plurality of drive source of a printer. SOLUTION: A printer for printing on a print medium using a print head comprises a power distribution decision means for judging confliction state of each control section and supplying optimal power at that moment of time when a sheet supply mechanism, a sheet feed mechanism, a carriage mechanism, and the like, are provided with dedicated motors. Sheet is fed at low speed (STEP 70) if a carriage is operating (YES at STEP 20) and the sheet feed mechanism is being driven (YES at STEP 50), and sheet is fed at high speed if both the carriage and the sheet feed mechanism are not being driven (STEP 40).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a power control method for the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing apparatus having a paper feeding mechanism, a paper feeding mechanism, a carriage mechanism, etc., in order to increase the printing speed and simplify the mechanism, a dedicated motor or the like is arranged for each drive. It was trying to achieve high speed by operating at the optimal timing.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional system, the number of motors driven at the same time increases, and the peak power increases, leading to an increase in the size of the power supply and the accompanying equipment. . That is, in order to achieve a high speed, a method is used in which a plurality of motors are used to start feeding a subsequent recording medium before a preceding recording medium is discharged. In this method, the paper feeding operation and the paper discharging operation are partially overlapped and driven, so that the total throughput can be reduced. However, this involves a large increase in the power used at the same time, and the power supply capacity must be designed in accordance with the maximum power, resulting in an increase in the size of the power supply and the accompanying equipment.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a print capable of performing high-speed printing with low power by optimizing the power distribution of a plurality of driving sources. It is intended to provide a device.

According to the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for printing on a print medium using a print head, wherein the print medium is fed in a direction toward the print head prior to printing. Means, power control means for controlling the power for driving the print medium feeding means, a power source other than the print medium feeding means, and the power when driving the print medium feeding means. Determining means for determining a use state of power of a use source, wherein the power control means controls power for driving the print medium feeding means based on a determination result of the determination means. And

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling power in a printing apparatus for performing printing on a print medium using a print head, wherein the print medium is transmitted to the print head using power prior to printing. A print medium feeding step for feeding in the opposite direction, and when performing the print medium feeding step, a step other than the print medium feeding step, which can be performed simultaneously with the print medium feeding step. Determining the power use state of the print medium, and controlling the amount of power used in the print medium feeding step according to the determination result of the determination step.

[0007] In this specification, the term "print" means not only the case where significant information such as characters and figures are formed, but also whether the information is significant or insignificant, and is evident so that humans can perceive it visually. Irrespective of whether or not the image is formed, a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is widely formed on a print medium or a case where the medium is processed is also referred to.

Here, the term "print medium" refers to not only paper used in a general printing apparatus but also a wide range of ink, such as cloth, plastic film, and metal plate, that can accept ink.

Further, "ink" is to be interpreted broadly as in the definition of "print" described above. When applied to a print medium, it forms an image, a pattern, a pattern, or processes the print medium. It can be provided to

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A printing apparatus having a high-speed printing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it has a power control mechanism that operates when a paper feeding operation is performed.
The effect of the present embodiment is to determine the available surplus power in a portion where the power consumed by the paper feeding mechanism, the power consumed by the sub-scanning mechanism, the power consumed by the main scanning mechanism, and the power consumed by the printing mechanism overlap. And driving the paper feed mechanism with power in a usable range. In the determination of the driving method at that time, it is characterized in that control can be performed so that the total printing time is the shortest.

In order to increase the throughput of the printing apparatus, it is possible to achieve the object most efficiently by shortening the paper feeding time and the paper discharging time. For example, when the print speed is 10 ppm, the average print time per page is 6 seconds. If the paper supply / discharge period is 3 seconds per sheet, only 3 seconds are used for printing itself.

When the paper supply / discharge is divided into cases, it is classified into the following cases. 1) When feeding the first print medium for printing 2) When printing of the preceding print medium is completed and feeding of the subsequent print medium is started during the discharge operation 3) During printing of the preceding print medium When starting to feed subsequent print media

When the paper is fed for printing the first sheet of 1), a pure paper feeding time is required. In this case, basically, the carriage mechanism for moving the print head does not need to move. The print head basically does not print. Therefore, almost no power is consumed. In this case, the movement having the highest priority is an auto sheet feeder (AS) which is a sheet feeding means for feeding a print medium toward a print head prior to printing.
F) is to feed at the highest speed. Therefore, it is possible to cause the driving motor to consume enough power to rotate the ASF paper feed roller at the highest speed.

When the printing of the preceding print medium is completed in 2) and the feeding of the succeeding print medium is started during the discharge operation, the drive in the sub-scanning direction is performed to discharge the preceding print medium. Meanwhile, looking at the current position of the preceding recording medium, the drive for feeding the subsequent print is started at the optimum position. Also in this case, basically, the carriage mechanism does not need to move. The print head also basically does not print, and is driven only at the same time by driving for sub-scanning for paper discharge. Therefore, it does not consume much power. In this case, the movement having the highest priority is to quickly complete the paper discharging operation and to complete the paper feeding at the timing when the paper discharging is completed. Therefore, it is possible to cause the driving motor to consume electric power enough to rotate the discharge roller at the highest speed.

Next, this is achieved by starting the paper feed roller of the ASF at a rotation speed at which the peak power does not become the maximum, and adjusting the timing to complete the discharge of the preceding print medium.

3) When starting to feed the succeeding print medium while printing the preceding print medium, driving of the feed of the succeeding print medium is started at an optimal timing by checking the current position of the preceding print medium. In this case, since the preceding printing is continuing, the carriage mechanism also needs to move. The printhead must also print. Strictly speaking, when the carriage is driven for performing main scanning and sub-scanning (when carriage ramp-up and paper-down operations overlap with each other), it is necessary to move the carriage. When the print head for main scanning and printing is driven (when the print head is driven and ink is actually ejected while the carriage moves in the constant speed range)
There are two types depending on the timing. In these cases, in addition to the drive for paper feeding, three drives are simultaneously performed to perform the two drives together as described above. Therefore, if it is driven as it is, the largest power is consumed. The highest priority movement in this case is to continue printing without reducing the speed. Therefore, the drive for performing the main scanning of the carriage, the driving for performing the sub-scanning, and the driving for the print head are given top priority, and the feed roller of the ASF is started at a rotation speed at which the peak power does not become maximum, and is driven with the minimum power. Thus, the paper supply is completed in accordance with the timing at which the discharge of the preceding recording medium is completed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when a paper feeding operation is performed, the time required for the next operation of the other mechanical units within the paper feeding time from now on is determined, and the most advantageous combination is determined. By doing so, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus that can achieve higher speed of the total throughput by determining the priority order in the competition. Specifically, at the time of the sheet feeding operation for printing the first sheet of the above 1), the cap opening operation for actually protecting the nozzle portion of the head cartridge, or the maintenance of the head even if the printing is not performed, A case where a preliminary ejection operation or the like is being performed or a case where the carriage is moving right and left at delicate timing may be considered. In these cases, it is also possible to determine whether to start the sheet feeding operation after the operation is completed or to perform the driving by restricting the power during the operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, elements denoted by the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding elements.

(Configuration of Printing Apparatus) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part in an embodiment of an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a head cartridge 1 is exchangeably mounted on a carriage 2. The head cartridge 1 has a print head unit and an ink tank unit, and is provided with a connector for transmitting and receiving signals for driving the head unit (not shown).

The head cartridge 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 so as to be exchangeable while being positioned.
Is provided with a connector holder (electric connection portion) for transmitting a drive signal or the like to each head cartridge 1 via the connector.

The carriage 2 is guided and supported so as to be able to reciprocate along a guide shaft 3 installed in the apparatus main body and extending in the main scanning direction. The carriage 2 is driven by a main scanning motor 4 to a motor pulley 5 and a driven pulley 6.
And a drive mechanism such as a timing belt 7, and its position and movement are controlled. These are examples of the main scanning unit in the present invention. Further, a home position sensor 30 is provided on the carriage. Thus, when the home position sensor 30 on the carriage 2 passes through the position of the shielding plate 36, the carriage 2
Can be known.

A print medium 8 such as a print sheet or a plastic thin plate is separated and fed one by one from an automatic sheet feeder (ASF) 32 by rotating a pickup roller 31 from a feed motor 35 via a gear. These are examples of the print medium feeding means in the present invention. Further, by the rotation of the conveyance roller 9, the head cartridge 1 is conveyed (sub-scanning) through a position (printing portion) facing the ejection port surface of the head cartridge 1. The transport roller 9 is rotated via a gear by rotating a LF (line feed) motor 34 for intermittently transporting the print medium in the sub-scanning direction every time one line is printed. These are examples of the intermittent conveying means in the present invention. At this time, the determination as to whether or not the paper has been fed and the determination of the cueing position at the time of paper feeding are performed when the print medium 8 has passed the paper end sensor 33. Further, the paper end sensor 33 is used to finally determine where the rear end of the print medium 8 is actually located and finally determine the current recording position from the actual rear end. The print medium 8 has its back surface supported by a platen (not shown) so as to form a flat print surface in the print section. In this case, each of the head cartridges 1 mounted on the carriage 2 is held such that their ejection port surfaces protrude downward from the carriage 2 and are parallel to the print medium 8 between the two pairs of transport rollers. ing. The head cartridge 14 is an ink-jet head cartridge that discharges ink using thermal energy, and includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. That is, the print head of the head cartridge 1 performs printing by discharging ink from the discharge port by using the pressure of bubbles generated by film boiling generated by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. .

FIG. 2 is a schematic partially transparent perspective view partially showing the main structure of the print head portion of the head cartridge 1. As shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, a plurality of discharge ports 22 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port surface 21 facing a print medium 8 at a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm). An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 25 for generating thermal energy used for ink ejection is provided along a wall surface of each liquid passage 24 communicating the common liquid chamber 23 and each ejection port 22. ing. In this example, the head cartridge 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 in a positional relationship such that the ejection ports 22 are arranged in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the carriage 2. In this manner, the corresponding electrothermal transducer (hereinafter, also referred to as “ejection heater”) 25 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal, and the ink in the liquid path 24 is film-boiled. A print head which discharges ink from the discharge port 22 by the pressure generated in the print head is formed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration example of a control circuit in the ink jet printing apparatus.

In FIG. 3, a controller 100 is a main control unit and has a function as power control means in the present invention.
01, a ROM 103 storing programs and necessary tables and other fixed data, and a RAM 105 provided with an area for developing image data and a work area. The host device 110 is a supply source of image data (in addition to being a computer that creates and processes data such as images related to printing, it may be in the form of a reader unit for reading images). Image data, other commands, status signals, and the like are transmitted to and received from the controller 100 via the interface (I / F) 112.

The operation unit 120 is a group of switches for receiving an instruction input by the operator, and includes a power switch 122, a recovery switch 126 for instructing activation of suction recovery, and the like.

The sensor group 130 is a group of sensors for detecting the state of the apparatus.
0, a paper end sensor 33 for detecting the presence or absence of a print medium, a temperature sensor 134 provided at an appropriate portion for detecting an environmental temperature, and the like.

The head driver 140 controls the discharge heater 25 of the head cartridge 1 according to print data and the like.
This is a driver for driving. Head driver 140
Is a shift register that aligns print data in accordance with the position of the ejection heater 25, a latch circuit that latches at appropriate timing, a logic circuit element that operates the ejection heater in synchronization with a drive timing signal, and a dot formation position. A timing setting unit and the like for appropriately setting a drive timing (ejection timing) for alignment are provided.

The head cartridge 1 includes a sub heater 1
42 are provided. The sub-heater 142 adjusts the temperature for stabilizing the ink ejection characteristics.
A form formed on the print head substrate at the same time as the discharge heater 25 and / or a form attached to the print head main body or the head cartridge can be adopted.

The motor driver 150 is a main scanning motor 4
The sub-scanning motor 34 is a motor used for conveying (sub-scanning) the print medium 8, and the motor driver 170 is the driver. The paper feed motor 35 is a motor used to separate the print medium 8 from the ASF and feed the print medium 8.
The driver 160 is the driver. In addition, the above-mentioned print head, carriage (scanning means), and LF motor (means for intermittently transporting the print medium) are included as power sources other than the print medium feeding means in the present invention.

Hereinafter, the control of the sheet feeding operation from each state will be described step by step.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the case of feeding a sheet for printing the first sheet of the above 1). In this state, the print medium 8 is stored in 32 ASFs. Since there is no preceding print medium, this is 1
This is the second print. The operation executed by the controller 100 will be described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a print command is given to the printing apparatus, the printing apparatus starts feeding a print medium in order to start printing after performing various known initial operations or the like. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the paper feed mode is started in Step 10. Step
At 20, it is determined whether the carriage (CR) is operating due to an initial operation or the like. If the carriage is not operating, the process proceeds to Step 30.

In Step 30, it is checked whether the LF operation is performed for the same reason. If the LF operation has not been performed, high-speed paper feed control is started in Step 40. Next, in Step 80, it is checked whether or not the sheet feeding has been completed, and if not completed, the process returns. Thereafter, the same loop is performed. When the process is completed in Step 80, the process exits the loop, and the paper feed mode is completed in Step 90. In this case, it is determined that the fastest sheet feeding operation can be performed without limiting the power, and the maximum power is fed to the sheet feeding motor 3 shown in FIG.
5

If the LF operation is being performed in Step 30, it is determined whether or not the head cartridge is being driven.
Check at ep60. Here, if the head is not being driven, the process proceeds to Step 40 and the same operation is performed thereafter. In this case, only the LF drive and the ASF drive are performed, and if there is still enough power, it is determined that the power use state is within the predetermined use state (predetermined power level), and high-speed paper feeding is possible. Become. In the present embodiment, the level of the high-speed paper feed control is described as one, but in practice, the level may be divided into several levels in accordance with the contention state. If the head cartridge is being driven in Step 60, it is determined that the power use state has exceeded the predetermined use state, and the low-speed paper feed control is performed in Step 70. Here, the state in which the cartridge is being driven corresponds to, for example, a case where the cartridge is being driven at a position for performing preliminary ejection during the initial operation. In this case, since the driving of the LF, the driving of the head cartridge, and the driving of the ASF are overlapped with each other, the power is severe and the low-speed paper feed control with a small power consumption per unit time is set. Thereafter, the process similarly proceeds to Step 80 to perform the same processing. Here, when the low speed is a first speed, the high speed is a second speed higher than the first speed.

If it is determined in Step 20 that the carriage is operating due to an initial operation or the like, the process proceeds to Step 50. If the LF is not operating in Step 50, Step
Proceed to 60. If the head cartridge is being driven in Step 60, the process proceeds to Step 70. In this case, since the carriage operation, the driving of the head cartridge, and the ASF sheet feeding operation are also overlapped by three, the power is limited and the low-speed sheet feeding operation is performed.

When the LF operation is being performed in Step 50, the process similarly proceeds to Step 70, and the low-speed paper feeding operation is performed.

The paper feeding operation here is to feed the print medium 8 up to just before the transport roller 9. This is because the feeding operation and the LF operation in the sub-scanning may be performed simultaneously and instantaneously in order to cause the leading edge of the print medium 8 to bite into the transport roller 9 even after the print medium 8 has been transported immediately before the transport roller 9. Many. In this case, the sheet feeding motor 35 may be driven based on the result of the determination until immediately before the conveyance roller 9, and thereafter, the sheet feeding may be switched to the low-speed sheet feeding that does not always provide the maximum power.

Hereinafter, similarly, the case 2) where the printing of the preceding print medium is completed and the feeding of the succeeding print medium is started during the discharge operation will be described. FIG. 6 shows the above state.

In this state, the preceding print medium 40 has finished printing and is in a state immediately before being discharged from the printing apparatus. Subsequent print medium 8 is 32
Is stored in the ASF. Since the preceding print medium 40 has been printed, the succeeding print medium 8 is the second print. The operation will be described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a print command is given to the printing apparatus, paper feeding of a print medium is started to start printing. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the paper feed mode is similarly started in Step 10. In Step 20, it is determined whether the carriage is operating. If the carriage is not operating, the process proceeds to Step 30. In Step 30, it is checked whether the LF is operating. In the case of FIG. 6, since the conveying roller 9 is rotating and the preceding recording medium is being ejected, it always rotates, and
Proceed to p60. Next, similarly, in Step 60, it is checked whether or not the head cartridge is operating by preliminary ejection or the like. If the head cartridge is not driven, Step
The process proceeds to 40 high-speed paper feed control.

Also in this case, it is determined that the fastest sheet feeding operation can be performed without limiting the power, and the maximum power is supplied to the sheet feeding motor 35 in FIG. If it is determined in Step 20 that the carriage is operating, and
If it is determined in step 60 that the head cartridge is being driven, S
Proceeding to step 70, the low-speed paper feed control is performed, and when the paper feed is completed, the paper feed mode is ended in step 90.

Hereinafter, similarly, 3) the case where the feeding of the succeeding print medium is started while the preceding print medium is being printed will be described. FIG. 7 shows the above-described state.

In this state, the preceding print medium 40 shows the state during printing. To be more precise, it is assumed that the carriage 2 is driven in the main scanning direction by the main scanning motor 4 in the main scanning direction, and the head cartridge 1 is driven to print on the preceding print medium 40.

The subsequent print medium 8 is stored in 32 ASFs. Since the preceding print medium 40 has not finished printing, the succeeding print medium 8 becomes 2
This is the first print. The operation will be described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The print command for the preceding print medium 40 has already been given to the printing device. Since the feed operation of the preceding print medium 40 has already been completed, the flowchart of FIG. 5 has already been completed for the preceding print medium.

Next, the feeding of the subsequent print medium 8 is started to start the subsequent printing. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the paper feed mode is similarly started in Step 10. S
At step 20, it is determined whether the carriage is operating.
In this case, since the printing is being performed, the carriage is always in operation. Therefore, the process always proceeds to Step 50 here. Ste
In p50, it is checked whether or not an operation for performing an operation in the sub-scanning direction is being performed. In the case of FIG. 7, the transport roller 9 is used to move the preceding recording medium 40 in the sub-scanning direction.
Must be rotated. Therefore, after Step 50, the process always proceeds to Step 70.

Therefore, low-speed paper feed control is performed, and Step 9
At 0, the paper feed mode ends. In this case, since the preceding recording medium 40 is being printed, it is often not necessary to feed at high speed. In this case, the timing of starting the paper feeding is determined by the preceding recording medium 40 being the paper end sensor 33.
May be started from the timing at which the sheet has passed, or the length of the preceding print medium 40 may be known in advance, and may be started at a timing at which paper can be continuously fed.

Table 1 shows the above combinations.

In Table 1, "HEAT" indicates that the print head is driven to eject ink.

In the table, CR, LF, and ASF mean that the carriage is driven by the main scanning motor, that the line feed motor is driven, and that the automatic sheet feeder is driven by the feed motor, respectively. Is shown.

[0051]

[Table 1]

In the above-described embodiment, the print head, the print head,
A description will be given of determining the power use state of all of the main scanning means for main scanning the print head relative to the print medium and the intermittent conveyance means for intermittently conveying the print medium in the sub-scanning direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power use state may be determined for at least one of the power use sources.

The present invention is particularly applicable to an ink jet printer.
Among the printing methods, there is provided a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used to perform ink ejection, and a method of causing a change in the state of ink by the thermal energy. This provides excellent effects in a print head printing apparatus. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve high density and high definition of the print.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. Generating heat energy in the electrothermal transducer by applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the print information and providing a rapid temperature rise above nucleate boiling, resulting in film boiling on the heat working surface of the print head. Is generated, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding one-to-one with this drive signal can be formed, which is effective. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is in the form of a pulse, the growth and shrinkage of the bubbles are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent printing can be performed.

The configuration of the print head is a combination of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications. The present invention also includes a configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600 which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is,
Whatever the form of the print head,
This is because according to the present invention, printing can be performed reliably and efficiently.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a print head fixed to the apparatus main body, or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or a connection from the apparatus main body by being mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also applicable to a case where a replaceable chip type print head capable of supplying ink or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank integrally provided in the print head itself is used. It is valid.

It is preferable to add a print head ejection recovery unit, a preliminary auxiliary unit, and the like as the configuration of the printing apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
Means for capping the print head, means for cleaning, means for applying pressure or suction, means for preheating using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, For example, a preliminary discharge unit for performing another discharge can be used.

The type and number of print heads to be mounted also correspond to a plurality of inks having different print colors and densities, for example, in addition to those provided only with one for a single color ink. May be provided in plurality. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is to print only the mainstream color such as black.
Not only the mode, but also the print head may be integrally configured or a combination of multiple print heads,
The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the printing modes of full-color printing using different colors or multi-color printing.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid.
An ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or the ink jet method controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C or more and 70 ° C or less. Generally, the temperature is controlled so that the viscosity is within a stable discharge range.
A liquid in which the ink is in a liquid state when the use print signal is applied may be used. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the ink is liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the print signal, and the liquid ink is ejected, or the ink already starts to solidify when reaching the print medium.
The present invention can also be applied to a case where an ink that liquefies for the first time by applying thermal energy is used. In such a case, an ink described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260 is used.
It may be configured such that it is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition to the ink jet of the present invention,
The printing apparatus may be used as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer, or may be a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. Good.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The increase in power, which has been a problem when driving with a plurality of driving sources in response to a plurality of driving means in order to increase the speed of printing, is determined by determining the race condition of each driving source and determining the total By checking and driving the power distribution so that the time is shortened, it has become possible to achieve a high-speed operation with low power as in the past.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially transparent perspective view schematically showing a structure of a main part of the print head.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control circuit in the ink jet printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating one form of a state immediately before the sheet feeding is started.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow relating to control of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating one form of a state immediately before the sheet feeding is started.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating one form of a state immediately before sheet feeding is started.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 head cartridge 2 carriage 3 guide shaft 4 main scanning motor 5 motor pulley 6 driven pulley 7 timing belt 8 print medium 9 transport roller 21 discharge port surface 22 discharge port 23 common liquid chamber 24 liquid path 25 electrothermal converter (Discharge heater) 100 Controller 101 CPU 103 ROM 105 RAM 110 Host device 112 I / F 120 Operation unit 122 Power switch 124 Print switch 126 Recovery switch 127 Registration adjustment start switch 129 Registration adjustment value setting input unit 130 Sensor group 132 Photocoupler 134 Temperature sensor 140 Head driver 142 Sub-heater 150, 160, 170 Motor driver

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for printing on a print medium using a print head, comprising: a print medium feeding means for feeding the print medium in a direction toward the print head prior to printing; Power control means for controlling the power for driving the feeding means; a power use source other than the print medium feeding means; and a use state of the power of the power use source when driving the print medium feed means. And a power control unit that controls power for driving the print medium feeding unit based on a result of the determination by the determination unit. 2. The power control unit controls the feeding speed of the print medium feeding unit to a first speed when it determines that the use state of the power determined by the determination unit exceeds a predetermined use state. When the use state of the power determined by the determination unit is determined to be within a predetermined use state, the feeding speed by the print medium feeding unit is controlled to a second speed higher than the first speed. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing is performed. 3. The power use source includes a print head, a main scanning unit for causing the print head to main scan relatively to a print medium, and an intermittent conveyance of the print medium in a sub scanning direction. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an intermittent transport unit. 4. The power use source includes a main scanning unit that causes the print head to perform main scanning relative to a print medium and a main scanning unit that intermittently conveys the print medium in a sub-scanning direction. Intermittent transporting means, and when driving the print medium feeding means, when at least two of the power usage sources are driven, the determining means determines that the power usage state exceeds the predetermined usage state. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination is performed. 5. The power use source includes a main scanning unit for causing the print head to main scan relative to the print medium relative to the print head, and a main scanning unit for intermittently conveying the print medium in the sub-scanning direction. An intermittent transport unit, wherein when the print medium feeding unit is driven, when the main scanning unit and the intermittent transport unit of the power usage source are driven, the determination unit includes the power usage source. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the power usage state exceeds a predetermined usage state. 6. The power use source includes a main scanning unit that causes the print head to perform main scanning relative to a print medium and a main scanning unit that intermittently conveys the print medium in a sub-scanning direction. Intermittent transport means, wherein when the print medium feeding means is driven, when the print head and the main scanning means of the power use source are driven, the determination means is configured to control the power use source. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the power use state exceeds a predetermined use state. 7. The power use source includes a main scanning unit for causing the print head and the print head to perform main scanning relative to a print medium, and an intermittent conveyance unit that conveys the print medium in a sub-scanning direction. Intermittent conveyance means, when the print medium feeding means is driven, when only the main scanning means among the power usage sources is driven, the determination means determines that the power usage state of the power usage source is 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the state is within a predetermined use state. 8. The power use source includes a main scanning unit for main scanning the print head relative to a print medium with respect to a print medium, and an intermittent conveyance unit for conveying the print medium in a sub-scanning direction. When the print medium feeding unit is driven, when only the intermittent conveyance unit of the power use source is driven, the determination unit determines whether the power use state of the power use source is 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the state is within a predetermined use state. 9. The power use source includes a main scanning unit for main scanning the print head relative to a print medium relative to the print head, and an intermittent conveyance unit for conveying the print medium in the sub scanning direction. An intermittent transport unit, wherein when the print medium feeding unit is driven, when the intermittent transport unit and the print head of the power usage source are driven, the determination unit is configured to control the power usage source. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the power use state exceeds a predetermined use state. 10. The power use source includes a main scanning unit for main scanning the print head relative to a print medium with respect to a print medium and an intermittent conveyance of the print medium in a sub scanning direction. When the main scanning unit and the intermittent conveyance unit are not driven when the print medium feeding unit is driven, the determination unit determines whether the power use state of the power use source is a predetermined value. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the usage state is within the usage state. 11. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined use state is a predetermined power level. 12. The print head according to claim 1, wherein the print head is an ink jet head, and further includes a thermal energy generating unit for causing ink to be ejected by causing film boiling in the ink. The printing device according to the above. 13. A method for controlling power in a printing apparatus for printing on a print medium using a printhead, the method comprising: using a power supply prior to printing, to feed the print medium in a direction toward the printhead. A medium feeding step, and when executing the print medium feeding step, determine a power use state of a step other than the print medium feeding step and a step which can be executed simultaneously with the print medium feeding step. Controlling the amount of power used in the printing medium feeding step according to the result of the determination in the determining step.