JP2006281553A - Printer, method of detecting stick slip, program, and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promptly detect the presence or absence of generation of the stick slip motion of a printing head. <P>SOLUTION: The printer comprises the printing head which carries out printing to a medium, a motor for moving the printing head, a guide part for guiding the printing head along a predetermined direction, a motor control part which controls the motor, a speed detecting part which detects a moving speed of the printing head, and a judging part which judges whether or not the printing head performs the stick slip motion, on the basis of the moving speed detected by the speed detecting part when the motor control part controls the motor to move the printing head at a constant speed of a predetermined or lower speed along the guide part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus in which a print head moves along a guide unit, a stick-slip detection method, a program, and a printing system.

  For example, an inkjet printer is known as a printing apparatus that performs printing on a medium such as paper or film. This ink jet printer includes a print head that ejects ink onto a medium, and the print head ejects ink while moving relative to the medium to perform printing on the medium.

The print head moves while being guided along a predetermined direction by a guide portion inside the printer. The print head is moved by a motor. The print head is accelerated to a predetermined speed by a controller of the motor, and moves to a target position while moving at a constant speed at a predetermined speed by, for example, PID control (see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).
JP 2001-103778 A JP 2001-158144 A JP 2001-169484 A

  In such an ink jet printer, the following problems may occur. That is, for example, when the ink jet printer is not used for a long period of time, the print head does not slide well along the guide portion, and the print head moves or stops repeatedly. (Also called). Such a stick-slip operation is caused by the fact that the grease at the sliding portion between the print head and the guide portion has solidified. In particular, such a stick-slip operation occurs when the print head tries to move at a low speed.

  When such a stick-slip operation occurs, the print head cannot be stopped at the target position, and a problem such as the print head moving back and forth around the target position may occur. In addition, when such a stick-slip operation occurs, there may be a problem that the user is anxious about the failure. For this reason, when the print head performs a stick-slip operation, it is necessary to quickly detect and deal with it.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to promptly detect when the print head performs a stick-slip operation.

The main invention for achieving the object is as follows:
(A) a print head for printing on a medium;
(B) a motor for moving the print head;
(C) a guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
(D) a motor control unit for controlling the motor;
(E) a speed detector that detects the moving speed of the print head;
(F) Based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. A determination unit that determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation;
The printing apparatus includes (G).

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

=== Summary of disclosure ===
At least the following matters will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

(A) a print head for printing on a medium;
(B) a motor for moving the print head;
(C) a guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
(D) a motor control unit for controlling the motor;
(E) a speed detector that detects the moving speed of the print head;
(F) Based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. A determination unit that determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation;
A printing apparatus comprising (G).
In such a printing apparatus, when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, the movement speed detected by the speed detection unit is set. Based on this, it is possible to promptly detect when the print head performs the stick-slip operation by determining whether or not the print head has performed the stick-slip operation.

  In such a printing apparatus, the determination unit may determine that the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value. good. Thus, if it is determined that the print head has performed the stick-slip operation when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is easy to determine whether the print head has performed the stick-slip operation. Can be determined.

  In the printing apparatus, the determination unit may cause the print head to perform a stick-slip when the movement speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined number of times. It may be determined that the operation has been performed. In this way, when it is determined that the print head has performed the stick-slip operation when the movement speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds the predetermined threshold value for a predetermined number of times or more, the print head performs the stick-slip operation. It is possible to more accurately determine whether or not this is done.

  In the printing apparatus, the determination unit may perform the printing when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then decreases below a predetermined allowable lower limit value. It may be determined that the head has performed a stick-slip operation. When it is determined that the print head has performed the stick-slip operation when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds the predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below the predetermined allowable lower limit value, the print head is It is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the stick-slip operation has been performed.

  In such a printing apparatus, the determination unit may generate a predetermined number of times that the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below a predetermined allowable lower limit value. In this case, it may be determined that the print head has performed a stick-slip operation. In this way, when the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit exceeds the predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below the predetermined allowable lower limit value for a predetermined number of times or more, it is determined that the print head has performed the stick-slip operation. Then, it can be determined more accurately whether or not the print head has performed the stick-slip operation.

  In the printing apparatus, the determination unit controls the motor so that the motor control unit moves the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit. It may also be determined whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation. In this way, while the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below a predetermined speed, it is determined whether or not the print head has performed a stick-slip operation. Whether or not an operation has been performed can be detected more reliably.

  In the printing apparatus, when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, the print head is It may be when moved to a capping device that closes an opening provided in the print head. Thereby, when the print head moves to the capping device that closes the opening provided in the print head, it can be easily detected whether or not the print head has performed the stick-slip operation.

  In this printing apparatus, when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, it is provided in the print head. The print head may be moved along the guide portion in order to detect the width of the medium to be printed by the optical sensor. Thus, an optical sensor provided in the print head detects whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the print head moves along the guide portion in order to detect the width of the medium to be printed. can do.

  In this printing apparatus, when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, the motor is mounted on the print head. It may be when the print head is moved to a predetermined position in order to replace the cartridge that has been changed. Accordingly, it is possible to detect whether or not the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the print head moves to a predetermined position in order to replace the cartridge mounted on the print head.

  Further, in such a printing apparatus, before printing on the medium by the print head, the motor control unit should move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. The motor may be controlled, and the determination unit may determine whether the print head performs a stick-slip operation. As described above, it is possible to detect in advance whether the print head performs the stick-slip operation by determining whether the print head performs the stick-slip operation before printing on the medium by the print head.

  In this printing apparatus, the print head may include a nozzle that ejects ink toward the medium in order to perform printing on the medium. In a printing apparatus having a print head provided with such nozzles, it is possible to detect whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation.

(A) a print head for printing on a medium;
(B) a motor for moving the print head;
(C) a guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
(D) a motor control unit for controlling the motor;
(E) a speed detector that detects the moving speed of the print head;
(F) Based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. A determination unit that determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation;
(G)
(H) When the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below a predetermined allowable lower limit value for a predetermined number of times or more, Is determined to have performed a stick-slip operation,
(I) The determination unit is configured so that the print head performs a stick-slip operation while the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along the guide unit. Determine whether or not
(J) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, an opening provided in the print head. Is moved to the capping device to close the part,
(K) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, printing is performed by an optical sensor provided on the print head. When the print head is moved along the guide portion to detect the width of the medium to be attempted;
(L) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, in order to replace the cartridge mounted on the print head. When the print head is moved to a predetermined position,
(M) Before printing on the medium by the print head, the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed, The determination unit determines whether the print head performs a stick-slip operation,
(N) The printing apparatus includes a nozzle that discharges ink toward the medium in order to perform printing on the medium.

Controlling a motor to move a print head that performs printing on a medium at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along a guide portion that guides the print head along a predetermined direction;
Detecting a moving speed of the print head moved by the motor;
Determining whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation based on the detected moving speed;
A stick-slip detection method characterized by comprising:

Controlling a motor to move a print head that performs printing on a medium at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along a guide portion that guides the print head along a predetermined direction;
Detecting a moving speed of the print head moved by the motor;
Determining whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation based on the detected moving speed;
A program characterized by executing

A printing system comprising a computer and a printing device connectable to the computer,
The printing apparatus includes: a print head that performs printing on a medium;
A motor for moving the print head;
A guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
A motor control unit for controlling the motor;
A speed detecting unit for detecting a moving speed of the print head;
When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed, the printing is performed based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit. A determination unit for determining whether or not the head has performed a stick-slip operation;
A printing system comprising:

=== Overview of Printing Apparatus ===
An embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described using an inkjet printer 1 as an example. 1 to 4 show the ink jet printer 1. FIG. 1 shows the appearance of the inkjet printer 1. FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the inkjet printer 1. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the transport section of the inkjet printer 1. FIG. 4 shows the system configuration of the inkjet printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 has a structure for discharging a medium such as printing paper supplied from the back surface from the front surface, and an operation panel 2 and a paper discharge portion 3 are provided on the front surface portion. The paper feeding unit 4 is provided on the back side. Various operation buttons 5 and display lamps 6 are provided on the operation panel 2. The paper discharge unit 3 is provided with a paper discharge tray 7 that closes the paper discharge port when not in use. The paper feed unit 4 is provided with a paper feed tray 8 for holding a medium such as cut paper.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 1 has a structure for discharging a medium such as printing paper supplied from the back side from the front side, and an operation panel 2 and a paper discharge unit 3 are provided on the front side. The paper feeding unit 4 is provided on the back side. Various operation buttons 5 and display lamps 6 are provided on the operation panel 2. The paper discharge unit 3 is provided with a paper discharge tray 7 that closes the paper discharge port when not in use. The paper feed unit 4 is provided with a paper feed tray 8 for holding a medium such as cut paper.

  Inside the ink jet printer 1, a carriage 41 is provided as shown in FIG. The carriage 41 is provided to be relatively movable along the left-right direction. Around the carriage 41, a carriage motor 42, a pulley 44, a timing belt 45, and a guide rail 46 are provided. The carriage motor 42 is constituted by a DC motor or the like, and is a drive source for relatively moving the carriage 41 in the left-right direction (hereinafter also referred to as the carriage movement direction). The timing belt 45 is connected to the carriage motor 42 via the pulley 44, and a part of the timing belt 45 is connected to the carriage 41. The carriage 41 is moved relative to the carriage 41 in the carriage movement direction (left-right direction) by the rotation of the carriage motor 42. Move. The guide rail 46 guides the carriage 41 along the carriage movement direction (left-right direction).

  In addition, in the periphery of the carriage 41, a linear encoder 51 that detects the position of the carriage 41 and a direction in which the medium S intersects the moving direction of the carriage 41 (the front-rear direction in the figure, hereinafter also referred to as the transport direction). A transport roller 17A for transporting along the transport path 17 and a transport motor 15 for rotationally driving the transport roller 17A are provided.

  On the other hand, the carriage 41 is provided with an ink cartridge 48 that stores various inks, and a head 21 that performs printing on the medium S. The ink cartridge 48 contains, for example, each color ink such as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K), and is detachable from a cartridge mounting portion 49 provided on the carriage 41. It is attached to. In the present embodiment, the head 21 performs printing by ejecting ink onto the medium S. For this purpose, the head 21 is provided with a number of nozzles for ejecting ink.

  The head 21 corresponds to a “print head” that performs printing on a medium. In the present embodiment, since the head 21 is provided on the carriage 41, the carriage 41 also corresponds to a “print head”. The guide rail 46 corresponds to a “guide portion” because it guides the carriage 41 (head 21) along a predetermined direction. The carriage motor 42 is a motor for moving the carriage 41 (head 21), and therefore corresponds to a “motor”.

In addition to this, in the inkjet printer 1, printing is performed in order to prevent clogging of the nozzles of the head 21 and the pump device 31 that sucks ink from the nozzles in order to eliminate clogging of the nozzles of the head 21. A capping device 35 that seals the nozzles of the head 21 when not in use (such as during standby) is provided.
Next, the conveyance unit of the inkjet printer 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport unit includes a paper feed roller 13, a paper detection sensor 53, a transport roller 17A, a paper discharge roller 17B, a platen 14, and free rollers 18A and 18B. Yes.

  The medium S to be printed is set in the paper feed tray 8. The medium S set in the paper feed tray 8 is conveyed along the direction of arrow A in the drawing by the paper feed roller 13 having a substantially D-shaped cross section, and is sent into the ink jet printer 1. The medium S sent to the inside of the ink jet printer 1 comes into contact with the paper detection sensor 53. The paper detection sensor 53 is installed between the paper feed roller 13 and the transport roller 17A, and detects the medium S fed by the paper feed roller 13.

  The medium S detected by the paper detection sensor 53 is sequentially transported to the platen 14 on which printing is performed by the transport roller 17A. A free roller 18A is provided at a position facing the conveying roller 17A. The medium S is smoothly transported by sandwiching the medium S between the free roller 18A and the transport roller 17A.

  The medium S sent to the platen 14 is sequentially printed by the ink ejected from the head 21. The platen 14 is provided to face the head 21 and supports the medium S to be printed from below.

  The medium S on which printing has been performed is sequentially discharged out of the printer by the paper discharge roller 17B. The paper discharge roller 17B is driven in synchronism with the transport motor 15, and sandwiches the medium S with the free roller 18B provided facing the paper discharge roller 17B, and discharges the medium S to the outside of the printer. To do.

<System configuration>
Next, the system configuration of the inkjet printer 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the inkjet printer 1 includes a buffer memory 122, an image buffer 124, a controller 126, a main memory 127, a communication interface 129, a carriage motor control unit 128, a transport control unit 130, A head driving unit 132.

  The communication interface 129 is for the inkjet printer 1 to exchange data with an external computer 140 such as a personal computer. The communication interface 129 is communicably connected to the external computer 140 by wire or wireless, and receives various data such as print data transmitted from the computer 140.

  Various data such as print data received by the communication interface 129 are temporarily stored in the buffer memory 122. Further, the image buffer 124 sequentially stores print data stored in the buffer memory. The print data stored in the image buffer 124 is sequentially sent to the head driving unit 132. The main memory 127 is composed of ROM, RAM, EEPROM, and the like. The main memory 127 stores various programs for controlling the inkjet printer 1 and various setting data.

  The controller 126 reads a control program, each setting data, and the like from the main memory 127, and controls the entire inkjet printer 1 according to the control program and various setting data. The controller 126 receives detection signals from various sensors such as the rotary encoder 134, the linear encoder 51, and the paper detection sensor 53.

  When various data such as print data sent from the external computer 140 is received by the communication interface 129 and stored in the buffer memory 122, the controller 126 stores necessary information from the stored data in the buffer memory. Read from 122. Based on the read information, the controller 126 refers to the output from the linear encoder 51 and the rotary encoder 134 and controls the carriage motor control unit 128, the conveyance control unit 130, the head drive unit 132, and the like according to the control program. Control each one.

  The carriage motor control unit 128 drives and controls the rotation direction, the number of rotations, torque, and the like of the carriage motor 42 according to instructions from the controller 126. The conveyance control unit 130 controls driving of the conveyance motor 15 that rotationally drives the conveyance roller 17 </ b> A according to a command from the controller 126.

  The head drive unit 132 drives and controls the nozzles of each color provided in the head 21 based on the print data stored in the image buffer 124 in accordance with a command from the controller 126.

  In this embodiment, the carriage motor control unit 128 controls the carriage motor 42 for moving the carriage 41 (head 21), and thus corresponds to a “motor control unit”.

<Head>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the ink nozzles provided on the lower surface of the head 21. On the lower surface of the head 21, as shown in the figure, nozzles comprising a plurality of nozzles # 1 to # 180 for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). A cyan nozzle row 211C, a magenta nozzle row 211M, a yellow nozzle row 211Y, and a black nozzle row 211K are provided.

  The nozzles # 1 to # 180 of the nozzle rows 211C, 211M, 211Y, and 211K are arranged in a line in a straight line at intervals from each other along a predetermined direction (here, the transport direction of the medium S). ing. The nozzle rows 211C, 211M, 211Y, and 211K are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals along the moving direction (scanning direction) of the head 21. Each nozzle # 1 to # 180 is provided with a piezo element (not shown) as a drive element for ejecting ink droplets.

  When a voltage having a predetermined time width is applied between the electrodes provided at both ends of the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element expands according to the voltage application time and deforms the side wall of the ink flow path. As a result, the volume of the ink flow path contracts in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the piezo element, and the ink corresponding to this contraction becomes ink droplets, and each nozzle # 1 of each color nozzle row 211C, 211M, 211Y, 211K. It is discharged from ~ # 180.

=== Linear encoder ===
<Configuration of encoder>
FIG. 6 schematically shows the configuration of the linear encoder 51. The linear encoder 51 includes a linear encoder code plate 464 and a detection unit 466. As shown in FIG. 2, the linear encoder code plate 464 is attached to the frame side inside the inkjet printer 1. On the other hand, the detection unit 466 is attached to the carriage 41 side. When the carriage 41 moves along the guide rail 46, the detection unit 466 moves relatively along the linear encoder code plate 464. Accordingly, the detection unit 466 detects the movement amount of the carriage 41.

<Configuration of detection unit>
FIG. 7 schematically shows the configuration of the detection unit 466. The detection unit 466 includes a light emitting diode 452, a collimator lens 454, and a detection processing unit 456. The detection processing unit 456 includes a plurality of (for example, four) photodiodes 458, a signal processing circuit 460, and, for example, two comparators 462A and 462B.

  When the voltage Vcc is applied to both ends of the light emitting diode 452 via a resistor, light is emitted from the light emitting diode 452. This light is condensed into parallel light by the collimator lens 454 and passes through the linear encoder code plate 464. The linear encoder code plate 464 is provided with slits at predetermined intervals (for example, 1/180 inch (1 inch = 2.54 cm)).

  The parallel light that has passed through the linear encoder code plate 464 enters each photodiode 458 through a fixed slit (not shown) and is converted into an electrical signal. The electric signals output from the four photodiodes 458 are subjected to signal processing in the signal processing circuit 460, the signals output from the signal processing circuit 460 are compared in the comparators 462A and 462B, and the comparison result is output as a pulse. Pulses ENC-A and ENC-B output from the comparators 462A and 462B are output from the linear encoder 51.

<Output signal>
8A and 8B are timing charts showing waveforms of two output signals of the detection unit 466 when the carriage motor 42 is rotating forward and when the carriage motor 42 is rotating forward. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the phase of the pulse ENC-A and the pulse ENC-B are different from each other by 90 degrees in both cases of forward rotation and reverse rotation of the carriage motor 42. When the carriage motor 42 is rotating forward, that is, when the carriage 41 is moving along the guide rail 46, the pulse ENC-A is 90 degrees more than the pulse ENC-B, as shown in FIG. 8A. When the phase advances and the carriage motor 42 reverses, the phase of the pulse ENC-A is delayed by 90 degrees from the pulse ENC-B, as shown in FIG. 8B. One cycle T of the pulse ENC-A and the pulse ENC-B is equal to the time during which the carriage 41 moves through the slit interval of the linear encoder code plate 464.

  Then, rising edges of the output pulses ENC-A and ENC-B of the linear encoder 51 are detected, the number of detected edges is counted, and the rotational position of the carriage motor 42 is calculated based on the counted value. The This count is incremented by "+1" when one edge is detected when the carriage motor 42 is rotating forward, and is "-1" when one edge is detected when rotating reversely. Is added. The period of each of the pulses ENC-A and ENC-B is equal to the time from when one slit passes through the detection unit 466 until the next slit passes through the detection unit 466 of the linear encoder code plate 464, and The pulse ENC-A and the pulse ENC-B are different in phase by 90 degrees. For this reason, the count value “1” of the count corresponds to ¼ of the slit interval of the linear encoder code plate 464. Thus, if the count value is multiplied by ¼ of the slit interval, the amount of movement of the carriage motor 42 from the rotational position corresponding to the count value “0” can be obtained based on the multiplication value. At this time, the resolution of the linear encoder 51 is ¼ of the slit interval of the linear encoder code plate 464.

=== Carriage motor control unit ===
The configuration of the carriage motor control unit 128 will be described in detail. FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of the carriage motor control unit 128. The carriage motor control unit 128 has substantially the same configuration as the conveyance control unit. That is, as shown in the figure, the carriage motor control unit 128 includes a position calculation unit 331, a subtracter 332, a gain 333, a speed calculation unit 334, a subtractor 335, a proportional element 336A, and an integration element 336B. A differential element 336C, an adder 337, a PWM circuit 338, an acceleration control unit 339A, and a timer 339B.

  The position calculation unit 331 detects the edge of the output pulse of the linear encoder 51, counts the number thereof, and calculates the rotational position of the carriage motor 42 based on the count value. The position calculation unit 331 recognizes normal rotation / reverse rotation of the carriage motor 42 from the comparison processing of the two pulse signals from the linear encoder 51, and increments according to normal rotation / reverse rotation when one edge is detected. Counting process to decrement.

  The subtractor 332 calculates a position deviation between the target position sent from the controller 126 and the detected position detected by the position calculation unit 331. The gain 333 multiplies the position deviation output from the subtracter 332 by the gain Kp, and outputs a target speed. The gain Kp is determined according to the position deviation.

The speed calculation unit 334 measures the pulse period of the output pulse of the linear encoder 51 and calculates the rotation speed of the carriage motor 42 based on this pulse period.
The subtractor 335 calculates a speed deviation between the target speed output from the gain 333 and the detected speed detected by the speed calculator 334.

The proportional element 336A multiplies the speed deviation by a constant Gp and outputs a proportional component. The integration element 336B integrates the speed deviation multiplied by the constant Gi and outputs an integration component. The differential element 336C multiplies the difference between the current speed deviation and the previous speed deviation by a constant Gd, and outputs a differential component. The calculation of the proportional element 336A, the integral element 336B, and the differential element 336C is performed for each cycle of the output pulse of the linear encoder 51.
The signal values output from the proportional element 336A, the integral element 336B, and the differential element 336C indicate the duty DX corresponding to the respective calculation results.

  The adder 337 adds the output of the proportional element 336A, the output of the integral element 336B, and the output of the derivative element 336C. The addition result is sent to the PWM circuit 338 as a duty signal. The PWM circuit 338 generates a command signal corresponding to the addition result of the adder 337. The driver 340 drives the carriage motor 42 based on this command signal. The driver 340 includes a plurality of transistors, for example, and applies a voltage to the carriage motor 42 by turning on and off the transistors based on a command signal from the PWM circuit 338.

  The acceleration control unit 339A and the timer 339B are used during acceleration control of the carriage motor 42. The timer 339B generates a timer interrupt signal every predetermined time based on the clock signal sent from the controller 126. The acceleration control unit 339A integrates a predetermined duty DXP every time a timer interrupt signal is received, and outputs a duty signal to the PWM circuit 338 as an integration result.

  When the carriage motor 42 is accelerated, the PWM circuit 338 outputs a command signal to the carriage motor 42 based on the duty signal output from the acceleration control unit 339A to control the carriage motor 42. When the carriage motor 42 is driven at a constant speed and when the carriage motor 42 is decelerated, the PWM circuit 338 outputs a command signal to the carriage motor 42 based on the duty signal output from the adder 337, and the carriage motor 42 42 is PID controlled.

=== Driving method of carriage motor ===
FIG. 10A is a graph of the time change of the duty signal input to the PWM circuit 338. FIG. 10B is a graph of the speed change of the carriage motor 42. Hereinafter, the driving of the carriage motor 42 will be described with reference to these drawings.

  When a start command signal for starting the carriage motor 42 is sent from the controller 126 to the carriage motor control unit 128 while the carriage motor 42 is stopped, a start initial duty signal whose signal value is DX0 is sent from the acceleration control unit 339A to the PWM. Sent to circuit 338. This startup initial duty signal is sent from the controller 126 to the acceleration control unit 339A together with the startup command signal. The start initial duty signal is converted into a command signal corresponding to the signal value DX0 by the PWM circuit 238, and the start of the carriage motor 42 is started.

  After the carriage motor control unit 128 receives the start command signal, a timer interrupt signal is generated from the timer 339B every predetermined time. Every time the acceleration control unit 339A receives a timer interrupt signal, the acceleration control unit 339A accumulates a predetermined duty DXP on the signal value DX0 of the startup initial duty signal, and sends a duty signal having the accumulated duty as a signal value to the PWM circuit 338. . The duty signal is converted into a command signal corresponding to the signal value by the PWM circuit 338, and the rotation speed of the carriage motor 42 increases. For this reason, the value of the duty signal sent from the acceleration control unit 339A to the PWM circuit 338 increases stepwise.

  The duty integration process in the acceleration control unit 339A is performed until the integrated duty reaches a predetermined duty DXS. When the duty integrated at time t1 reaches a predetermined value DXS, the acceleration control unit 339A stops the integration process, and thereafter sends a duty signal having a constant duty DXS as a signal value to the PWM circuit 338.

  When the carriage motor 42 reaches a predetermined rotation speed (see time t2), the acceleration control unit 339A decreases the duty signal output to the PWM circuit 338 and decreases the duty percentage of the voltage applied to the carriage motor 42. To control. At this time, the rotational speed of the carriage motor 42 further increases. At time t3, the PWM circuit 338 selects the output of the adder 337, and PID control is performed. At the time (t3) when the PID control is started, the integral value of the integral element 336B is set to an appropriate value, and the output value of the integral element 336B becomes a predetermined value.

  When the PID control is started, the carriage motor control unit 128 calculates the target rotational speed by multiplying the position deviation between the target rotational position and the actual rotational position obtained from the output of the linear encoder 51 by the gain Kp. . The carriage motor control unit 128 uses the proportional element 336A, the integral element 336B, and the differential element 336C based on the speed deviation between the target rotational speed and the actual rotational speed obtained from the output of the linear encoder 51. The proportional component, integral component, and differential component are calculated, and the carriage motor 42 is controlled based on the sum of the calculation results. The proportional, integral, and differential calculations are performed in synchronization with the rising edge of the output pulse ENC-A of the linear encoder 51, for example. Thereby, the rotation speed of the carriage motor 42 is controlled to be a desired rotation speed at time t4.

  When the carriage motor 42 approaches the target rotation position (time t5), the position deviation decreases, so the target rotation speed also decreases. Therefore, the speed deviation, that is, the output of the subtractor 335 becomes negative, the carriage motor 42 decelerates, and stops at time t6.

=== Printing operation ===
Next, the printing operation of the above-described ink jet printer 1 will be described. Here, “bidirectional printing” will be described as an example. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the printing operation of the inkjet printer 1. Each process described below is executed by the controller 126 reading a program from the main memory 127 and controlling the carriage motor control unit 128, the conveyance control unit 130, the head driving unit 132, and the like according to the program. The

  Upon receiving print data from the computer 140, the controller 126 first performs a paper feed process to execute printing based on the print data (S102). The paper feed process is a process of supplying the medium S to be printed into the ink jet printer 1 and transporting it to a print start position (also referred to as a cue position). The controller 126 rotates the paper feed roller 13 to send the medium S to be printed to the transport roller 17A. The controller 126 rotates the transport roller 17A to position the medium S sent from the paper feed roller 13 at the print start position (near the upper side of the platen 14).

  Next, the controller 126 drives the carriage motor 42 through the carriage motor control unit 128 and moves the carriage 41 relative to the medium S to execute a printing process for printing on the medium S. Here, first, forward printing is performed to eject ink from the head 21 while moving the carriage 41 in one direction along the guide rail 46 (S104). The controller 126 drives the carriage motor 42 to move the carriage 41 and drives the head 21 based on the print data to eject ink. The ink ejected from the head 21 reaches the medium S and is formed as dots.

  After printing in this way, the controller 126 next executes a transport process for transporting the medium S by a predetermined amount (S106). Here, the controller 126 drives the conveyance motor 15 through the conveyance control unit 130 to rotate the conveyance roller 17A, and conveys the medium S by a predetermined amount relative to the head 21 in the conveyance direction. By this carrying process, the head 21 can print in an area different from the previously printed area.

  After performing the carrying process in this manner, the controller 126 determines whether or not to discharge paper (S108). Here, if there is no other data to be printed on the medium S being printed, the controller 126 executes a paper discharge process (S116). On the other hand, if there is other data to be printed on the medium S being printed, the controller 126 performs the backward printing without performing the paper discharge process (S110). In this backward printing, printing is performed by moving the carriage 41 along the guide rail 46 in the direction opposite to the previous forward printing. Again, the controller 126 rotates the carriage motor 42 through the carriage motor control unit 128 to move the carriage 41 in the reverse direction, and also drives the head 21 based on the print data to eject ink and print. Apply.

  After performing the return pass printing, a carrying process is executed (S112), and then a paper discharge determination is made (S114). Here, if there is other data to be printed on the medium S being printed, the paper discharge process is not performed, the process returns to step S104, and the forward printing is executed again (S104). On the other hand, if there is no other data to be printed on the medium S being printed, a paper discharge process is executed (S116).

  After the paper discharge process is performed, next, a print end determination is performed to determine whether or not to end printing (S118). Here, based on the print data from the computer 140, it is checked whether there is a medium S to be printed next. If there is a medium S to be printed next, the process returns to step S102, the paper feed process is executed again, and printing is started. On the other hand, if there is no medium S to be printed next, the printing process is terminated.

=== Stick-slip operation ===
In such an ink jet printer 1, the carriage 41 (printing head) does not slide well along the guide rail 46 when it is not used for a long period of time, and the moving speed of the carriage 41 is periodically increased. There is a case where a so-called stick-slip operation (also referred to as a sucking operation) is performed in which the operation of moving or stopping the carriage 41 is repeated.

  In this stick-slip operation, the speed is periodically increased or decreased. In an extreme case, the jerky slip is repeated such that the carriage 41 is intermittently moved or stopped. It becomes exercise. This stick-slip operation is also called a stick-slip. The main cause of such stick-slip operation is considered to be the difference between the coefficient of static friction and the coefficient of dynamic friction of the sliding portion between the carriage 41 and the guide rail 46 that guides it. . That is, since the static friction coefficient of the sliding portion between the carriage 41 and the guide rail 46 is very large compared to the dynamic friction coefficient, the carriage 41 does not move easily even if the torque of the carriage motor 42 increases. When the torque of the carriage motor 42 reaches a predetermined value, the carriage 41 starts to move. When the carriage starts to move, the dynamic friction coefficient is low, so that the moving speed of the carriage 41 increases rapidly. When the carriage moving speed suddenly increases as described above, the carriage motor control unit 128 applies rapid braking to the carriage motor 42 in order to suppress the moving speed of the carriage 41. For this reason, the carriage 41 is stalled.

  FIG. 12 shows the moving speed of the carriage 41 when the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation. As shown in the figure, the carriage 41 does not start moving unless the torque of the carriage motor 42 reaches a predetermined value. The moving speed of the carriage 41 is detected by the speed calculation unit 334 (see FIG. 9). The carriage motor control unit 128 monitors the moving speed of the carriage 41 through the speed calculation unit 334. When the moving speed of the carriage 41 does not increase, the carriage motor control unit 128 performs control to increase the torque of the carriage motor 42 in order to move the carriage 41. Thereby, when the torque of the carriage motor 42 reaches a predetermined value, the carriage 41 starts to move, and the moving speed of the carriage 41 rapidly increases. When the moving speed of the carriage 41 increases and reaches a predetermined level, the carriage motor control unit 128 applies braking to the carriage motor 42 in order to suppress the moving speed of the carriage 41. As a result, the moving speed of the carriage 41 decreases, and the carriage 41 stalls and stops again. Then, the carriage motor control unit 128 performs control to increase the torque of the carriage motor 42 again in order to move the carriage 41. As a result, when the carriage 41 starts to move again and the moving speed rapidly increases, the carriage 41 stalls again and stops. Such a movement operation and a stop operation are alternately repeated.

=== When stick-slip motion occurs ===
The carriage 41 performs such a stick-slip operation when the carriage motor control unit 128 attempts to move the carriage 41 at a constant speed below a predetermined speed via the carriage motor 42. That is, when the carriage 41 moves at a constant speed exceeding the predetermined speed, that is, for example, when the carriage 41 moves at a very high speed during printing, the stick-slip operation hardly occurs. . Here, the predetermined speed refers to an upper limit speed at which the carriage 41 may perform a stick-slip operation.

  There are the following cases (1) to (4) as a case where the carriage 41 moves at a constant speed below a predetermined speed at which a stick-slip operation is performed.

(1) Ink cartridge replacement In this case, the ink cartridge 48 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the carriage 41 is replaced by a user or the like. When the ink cartridge 48 is replaced by a user or the like, it is necessary to move the carriage 41 to a predetermined position so that the ink cartridge 48 can be easily replaced by the user or the like. In this case, it is necessary to move the carriage 41 slowly at a low speed below a predetermined speed so that the user or the like does not carelessly come into contact with the carriage 41.

(2) During capping When the carriage 41 moves to a position where the capping device 35 (see FIG. 2) is provided. When printing is not performed (such as during standby), the carriage 41 moves to the installation position of the capping device 35 to prevent the nozzles # 1 to # 180 of the head 21 from being clogged. An operation of sealing 1 to # 180 is performed. In such a case, the carriage 41 is slowly moved at a low speed below a predetermined speed.

(3) When the power is turned on When the power is turned on, the carriage 41 moves away from the capping device 35 to prepare for execution of the printing process, for example, to clean the nozzles # 1 to # 180 of the head 21, etc. Start operation. In such a case, the carriage 41 is slowly moved at a low speed below a predetermined speed.

(4) During paper width detection The carriage 41 moves along the guide rail 46 in order for the ink jet printer 1 to detect the width of the medium S to be printed by an optical sensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 41. . At this time, in order to accurately check the width of the medium S, the carriage 41 slowly moves at a low speed below a predetermined speed.

  In the case where the carriage 41 moves at a constant speed below a predetermined speed at which a stick-slip operation is performed, other cases than those described in (1) to (4) may be used.

=== Detection of stick-slip motion ===
When such a stick-slip operation occurs in the carriage 41, the carriage 41 cannot be stopped at the target position, and problems such as moving the carriage 41 around the target position may occur. there were. In addition, when such a stick-slip operation occurs, there may be a problem that the user is anxious about the failure. For this reason, when the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, it is necessary to quickly detect and cope with it.

  Therefore, the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment has a function of detecting the stick-slip operation of the carriage 41 so that the carriage 41 can smoothly cope with such a stick-slip operation. Prepare.

  In the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, in order to detect whether or not the carriage 41 is performing a stick-slip operation, a speed detection unit that detects the moving speed of the carriage 41 and a carriage detected by the speed detection unit. And a determination unit for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation based on the moving speed of 41.

  In this embodiment, the speed calculation unit 334 (see FIG. 9) of the carriage motor control unit 128 is used as the speed detection unit. The speed calculation unit 334 detects the moving speed of the carriage 41 based on the output from the linear encoder 51. The controller 126 determines whether the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. The controller 126 acquires information about the moving speed of the carriage 41 from the speed calculation unit 334 of the carriage motor control unit 128, and determines whether the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation based on the information.

  Whether the carriage 41 is performing a stick-slip operation is detected when the carriage 41 is about to move at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. That is, it is performed when the carriage motor control unit 128 tries to move the carriage 41 at a constant speed or less at a predetermined speed or less via the carriage motor 42. The case where the carriage 41 moves at a constant speed below a predetermined speed is as described above.

=== Judging Method <Part 1> ===
A method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation performed by the controller 126 will be described.

  FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. Here, the controller 126 determines that the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds a predetermined threshold value V0. That is, when the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, the moving speed of the carriage 41 rapidly increases while drawing a parabola when the carriage 41 starts to move as shown in FIG. At this time, the moving speed of the carriage 41 reaches a speed much faster than the original moving speed of the carriage 41. Therefore, whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation by setting an appropriate predetermined threshold value V0 and checking whether or not the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0. You can easily check whether or not.

  As a method for setting the predetermined threshold value V0, there are specifically the following methods (A) and (B).

(A) Assumed upper limit speed The assumed upper limit speed refers to an upper limit speed out of the moving speeds that the carriage 41 can assume when such stick-slip operation is not performed. That is, unless the carriage 41 performs the stick-slip operation, the moving speed of the carriage 41 does not exceed the assumed upper limit speed. Therefore, when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the assumed upper limit speed, it can be determined that the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation.

(B) Stoppable upper limit speed The stoppable upper limit speed is a speed at which the carriage 41 can sufficiently stop at a predetermined target position as long as the carriage 41 moves at a speed lower than that speed. In other words, if the carriage 41 moves below the upper limit of possible stop speed, it can be smoothly stopped at a predetermined target position. When the moving speed of the carriage 41 is equal to or higher than the upper limit speed that can be stopped, it is difficult to stop the carriage 41 at a predetermined target position.

  The movement speed of the carriage 41 set by the carriage motor control unit 128 is usually equal to or less than the upper limit speed that can be stopped. Therefore, when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the upper limit speed at which the carriage 41 can be stopped, it can be determined that the moving speed of the carriage 41 is abnormal, and it can be determined that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation.

  Note that the predetermined threshold value V0 is not limited to the case where it is set by the methods (A) and (B). That is, the predetermined threshold value V0 may be set by an appropriate method other than the methods (A) and (B).

=== Judgment Method <Part 2> ===
Another method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation performed by the controller 126 will be described.

  FIG. 14 illustrates another example of a method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. Here, the controller 126 determines that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2. That is, when the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, the moving speed of the carriage 41 rapidly increases while drawing a parabola when the carriage 41 starts to move as shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the moving speed of the carriage 41 reaches a predetermined level, the carriage motor control unit 128 applies braking to the carriage motor 42 in order to suppress the moving speed of the carriage 41. As a result, the moving speed of the carriage 41 is rapidly reduced, and finally the carriage 41 is stalled and enters a stopped state. The moving speed of the carriage 41 reaches a speed that is much faster than the originally assumed allowable upper limit speed V1 of the carriage 41, and then rapidly decreases and is lower than the originally assumed allowable lower limit speed V2 of the carriage 41 ( (Including stop state). Therefore, whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation is checked by checking whether or not the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2. Easy to check.

=== Judgment Method <Part 3> ===
Another method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation performed by the controller 126 will be described.

  FIG. 15 illustrates another example of a method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. Here, the controller 126 determines that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0 twice or more. That is, when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0 only once, it is not determined that the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation.

  When the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, the moving speed of the carriage 41 rapidly increases as shown in the figure, and then rapidly decreases with a peak. Then, the carriage 41 is stalled and stopped. Thereafter, after a while, the carriage 41 starts to move again, the moving speed suddenly increases, reaches a peak again, and then suddenly becomes a phenomenon. Finally, the carriage 41 stalls and stops. The carriage 41 alternately performs a moving operation with such rapid acceleration / deceleration and a stopping operation. From this, the number of times that the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0 is counted, and if it is determined that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation when the number of times reaches, for example, two times or more, It can be more accurately determined whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation.

  The number of times that the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0, which is a reference for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation, is, for example, 3 in addition to the above two times. May be set to 4 times or more.

=== Judgment Method <4> ===
Another method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation performed by the controller 126 will be described.

  FIG. 16 illustrates another example of a method for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. Here, the controller 126 performs the stick-slip operation when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2 twice or more. Judge that it has been done. That is, when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2, it is not determined that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation. .

  When the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, the moving speed of the carriage 41 rapidly increases as shown in the figure, and then rapidly decreases with a peak. Then, the carriage 41 is stalled and stopped. Thereafter, after a while, the carriage 41 starts to move again, the moving speed suddenly increases, reaches a peak again, and then suddenly becomes a phenomenon. Finally, the carriage 41 stalls and stops. The carriage 41 alternately performs a moving operation with such rapid acceleration / deceleration and a stopping operation. From this, the number of times that the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2 is counted, and when the number reaches, for example, two times or more, the carriage If it is determined that 41 has performed the stick-slip operation, it can be more accurately determined whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation.

  The number of times that the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined upper limit allowable value V1 and then falls below the predetermined lower limit allowable value V2, which is a reference for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation. In addition to the two times described above, for example, the number may be set to three times, or may be set to four times or more.

=== Example of determination processing ===
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of determination processing performed by the controller 126 as to whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. Here, a case of “determination method <part 1>” in which it is determined that the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation when the moving speed of the carriage 41 exceeds a predetermined threshold value V0 will be described as an example.

  First, the controller 126 acquires the moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 from the carriage motor control unit 128 (S202). Next, the controller 126 compares the acquired moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 with a predetermined threshold value V0 (S204). If the moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 exceeds the predetermined threshold value V0, the controller 126 proceeds to step S208 and determines that the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation (S208). .

  On the other hand, if the moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 does not exceed the predetermined threshold value V0, the controller 126 then proceeds to step S206 and checks whether the carriage 41 has reached the target position ( S206). If the carriage 41 has not reached the target position, the controller 126 returns to step S202, and again acquires the moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 from the carriage motor control unit 128 (S202). The obtained moving speed Vt of the carriage 41 is compared with a predetermined threshold value V0 (S204). On the other hand, if the carriage 41 has reached the target position, the controller 126 immediately ends the process.

=== Timing timing ===
The timing for determining whether or not the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation in this way is real-time when the carriage motor control unit 128 moves the carriage 41 at a constant speed below a predetermined speed via the carriage motor 42. In addition to performing the determination, the determination may be performed after the movement of the carriage 41 is completed. Alternatively, the determination may be made each time the carriage motor control unit 128 moves the carriage 41 at a constant speed below a predetermined speed via the carriage motor 42.

  In addition, for the purpose of inspecting whether the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, the carriage motor control unit 128 moves the carriage 41 at a constant speed below a predetermined speed via the carriage motor 42, and Thereby, it may be determined whether or not the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation. In this case, it may be executed before performing the printing process.

=== Corrective measures when stick-slip is detected ===
As a coping method when the controller 126 detects a stick-slip operation, the following coping method can be considered.
(1) Storage in memory or the like When the controller 126 determines that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation, the controller 126 stores that fact in an appropriate storage unit provided in the inkjet printer 1 such as the main memory 127. As a result, the controller 126 leaves a history in the main memory or the like regarding the carriage 41 performing the stick-slip operation. This history may be used to inform the person who performs the maintenance that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation during the maintenance of the inkjet printer 1 or the like.
(2) Display as error or the like When the controller 126 determines that the carriage 41 has performed the stick-slip operation, the controller 126 may display the fact through the display lamp 6 or the like.
Other than these (1) and (2), other coping methods can be taken.

=== Summary ===
As described above, in the present embodiment, when the carriage motor control unit 128 moves the carriage 41 at a constant speed or less at a predetermined speed or less via the carriage motor 42, the speed calculation unit 334 of the carriage motor control unit 128 performs the carriage. 41 is detected, and based on the detected movement speed, it is determined whether or not the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation. If the carriage 41 has performed a stick-slip operation, this is quickly detected. Can be detected. As a result, when the carriage 41 performs a stick-slip operation, it can be handled smoothly.
=== Configuration of Printing System etc. ===
Next, as an embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention, a case where an inkjet printer 1 is provided as a printing apparatus will be described as an example. FIG. 18 shows an external configuration of an embodiment of a printing system. The printing system 300 includes a computer 140, a display device 304, and an input device 306. The computer 140 includes various computers such as a personal computer.

  The computer 140 includes a reading device 312 such as an FD drive device 314 and a CD-ROM drive device 316. In addition, the computer 140 may include, for example, an MO (Magnet Optical) disk drive device or a DVD drive device. The display device 304 includes various display devices such as a CRT display, a plasma display, and a liquid crystal display. The input device 306 includes a keyboard 308, a mouse 310, and the like.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment. The computer 140 includes a CPU 318, a memory 320, and a hard disk drive 322 in addition to the reading device 312 such as the FD drive device 314 and the CD-ROM drive device 316.

  The CPU 318 performs overall control of the computer 140. The memory 320 stores various data. A printer driver or the like is installed in the hard disk drive 322 as a program for controlling a printing apparatus such as the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment. The CPU 318 reads a program such as a printer driver stored in the hard disk drive 322 and operates according to the program. The CPU 318 is connected to a display device 304, an input device 306, the ink jet printer 1, and the like installed outside the computer 140.

  The printing system 300 realized in this way is a system that is superior to the conventional system as a whole system.

=== Other Embodiments ===
As described above, the printing apparatus such as a printer according to the present invention has been described based on one embodiment. However, the above-described embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is limited and interpreted. Not meant to be The present invention can be changed or improved without departing from the gist thereof, and needless to say, the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, even the embodiments described below are included in the printing apparatus according to the present invention.

<About print head>
In the embodiment described above, the print head (head 21) has the nozzles # 1 to # 180 that eject ink, and prints by ejecting ink from the nozzles # 1 to # 180, respectively. However, the print head here is not necessarily limited to such a head 21. That is, any form of print head may be used as long as printing is performed on a medium.

<About motor>
In the above-described embodiment, the carriage motor 42 moves as the “motor” via the pulley 44 and the timing belt 45, but the carriage 41 moves to the “motor” for moving the “printing head”. However, it is not necessarily limited to such a motor. That is, any motor may be used as long as it is a motor for moving a print head that performs printing on a medium.

<About the guide>
In the embodiment described above, the guide for guiding the print head (head 21, carriage 41) linearly in the lateral direction is used as a “guide portion” for guiding the print head (head 21, carriage 41) along a predetermined direction. Although the rail 46 has been disclosed, the “guide portion” is not necessarily limited to such a guide rail 46 alone. That is, any type of guide unit may be used as long as it is a guide unit for guiding the print head (head 21, carriage 41) along a predetermined direction.

<About the motor controller>
In the above-described embodiment, the carriage motor control unit 128 is taken as an example of the “motor control unit”, and the motor control unit that performs PID control on the motor (carriage motor 42) has been described. The “control unit” is not necessarily limited to such a motor control unit. That is, as long as the control unit controls the “motor”, any control method for controlling the motor may be used. That is, it may be a motor control unit that controls the motor by a method other than the PID control.

<About the speed detector>
In the above-described embodiment, the speed calculation unit 334 of the carriage motor control unit 128 is used as the speed detection unit that detects the moving speed of the print head (the head 21 and the carriage 41). The “part” is not necessarily limited to such a speed calculation unit 334. That is, any type of speed detection unit may be used as long as it detects the moving speed of the print head (head 21, carriage 41). For example, as described above, the speed calculation of the carriage motor control unit 128 is possible. Instead of using the unit 334, a speed detecting unit that directly detects the moving speed of the print head (head 21, carriage 41) by, for example, an optical method may be provided.

<About judgment part>
In the above-described embodiment, the controller 126 determines whether or not the print head (the head 21 and the carriage 41) has performed the stick-slip operation as the “determination unit”. However, this is not always the case when the controller 126 is used.

<About printing devices>
In the embodiment described above, the case of the inkjet printer 1 as described above has been described as an example of the printing apparatus. However, the printing apparatus is not limited to such a printing apparatus, but may be an inkjet printer that ejects ink by other methods. May be.
In addition to this, as a printing apparatus, in addition to the ink jet printer 1 described above, any printing apparatus provided with a print head that performs printing on a medium and is movable along a predetermined direction may be used. Any type of printing apparatus may be used.

<About ink>
The ink to be used may be a pigment ink, or other various inks such as a dye ink.
Regarding the ink color, in addition to the above-described yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), for example, light cyan (LC), light magenta (LM), and dark yellow (DY), for example, Ink of other colors such as red, violet, blue, and green may be used.

<About media>
For media, including plain paper, matte paper, cut paper, glossy paper, roll paper, paper, photo paper, roll-type photo paper, etc., in addition to these, film materials and cloth materials such as OHP film and gloss film, It may be a metal plate. That is, any medium can be used as long as it can be a printing target.

1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the printing apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the conveyance part of a printing apparatus. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a system configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of a head of a printing apparatus. Explanatory drawing explaining an example of the linear encoder. The block diagram which shows the structure of the detection part of a linear encoder. FIG. 8A is a timing chart showing the output waveform of the linear encoder during forward rotation, and FIG. 8B is a timing chart showing the output waveform of the linear encoder during reverse rotation. The block block diagram of a carriage motor control part. FIG. 10A is a graph of time change of the duty signal, and FIG. 10B is a graph of speed change of the motor. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of printing processing. Explanatory drawing of the change of the speed when a carriage performs stick-slip operation | movement. Explanatory drawing of an example of the determination method of the presence or absence of stick-slip operation | movement. Explanatory drawing of the other example of the determination method of the presence or absence of stick-slip operation | movement. Explanatory drawing of the other example of the determination method of the presence or absence of stick-slip operation | movement. Explanatory drawing of the other example of the determination method of the presence or absence of stick-slip operation | movement. The flowchart explaining an example of the determination process of a controller. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an example of a printing system. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a system configuration of an example of a printing system.

Explanation of symbols

1 Inkjet printer, 2 operation panel, 3 paper discharge unit, 4 paper supply unit,
5 operation buttons, 6 indicator lamps, 7 paper discharge tray, 8 paper feed tray,
11A paper insertion slot, 11B roll paper insertion slot, 13 paper feed roller, 14 platen,
15 Conveyance motor, 17A Conveyance roller, 17B Discharge roller,
18A free roller, 18B free roller, 21 heads, 31 pump device,
35 capping device, 41 carriage, 42 carriage motor,
44 pulley, 45 timing belt, 46 guide rail,
48 ink cartridges, 49 cartridge mounting parts,
51 linear encoder, 53 paper detection sensor, 122 buffer memory,
124 image buffer, 126 controller, 127 main memory,
128 carriage motor control unit, 130 transport control unit,
132 head drive unit, 134 rotary encoder, 140 computer,
211Y yellow nozzle row, 211C cyan nozzle row,
211M magenta nozzle row, 211K black nozzle row,
331 Position calculation unit, 332 subtractor, 333 gain, 334 speed calculation unit,
335 subtractor, 336A proportional element, 336B integral element, 336C differential element,
337 Adder, 338 PWM circuit,
339A acceleration control unit, 339B timer, 340 driver,
452 LED, 454 collimator lens,
456 detection processing unit, 458 photodiode, 460 signal processing circuit,
462A comparator, 462B comparator,
464 linear encoder code plate, 466 detector

Claims (15)

(A) a print head for printing on a medium;
(B) a motor for moving the print head;
(C) a guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
(D) a motor control unit for controlling the motor;
(E) a speed detector that detects the moving speed of the print head;
(F) Based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. A determination unit that determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation;
A printing apparatus comprising (G).   2. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Printing device.   The determination unit determines that the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the movement speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value a predetermined number of times or more. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.   The determination unit determines that the print head has performed a stick-slip operation when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below a predetermined allowable lower limit value. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.   The determination unit may cause the print head to perform a stick-slip when the moving speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below a predetermined allowable lower limit value for a predetermined number of times. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that an operation has been performed.   The determination unit determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation while the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer is determined.   When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, the opening of the print head is closed. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is moved to a capping apparatus.   When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, an attempt is made to print by an optical sensor provided in the print head. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing head is moved along the guide portion in order to detect the width of the medium.   When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, the print unit is used to replace a cartridge mounted on the print head. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head is moved to a predetermined position.   Before printing on the medium by the print head, the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed or less, and the determination unit The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing head determines whether or not the print head performs a stick-slip operation.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head includes a nozzle that ejects ink toward the medium in order to perform printing on the medium. (A) a print head for printing on a medium;
(B) a motor for moving the print head;
(C) a guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
(D) a motor control unit for controlling the motor;
(E) a speed detector that detects the moving speed of the print head;
(F) Based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit when the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed. A determination unit that determines whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation;
(G)
(H) When the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit exceeds a predetermined allowable upper limit value and then falls below a predetermined allowable lower limit value for a predetermined number of times or more, Is determined to have performed a stick-slip operation,
(I) The determination unit is configured so that the print head performs a stick-slip operation while the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along the guide unit. Determine whether or not
(J) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, an opening provided in the print head. Is moved to the capping device to close the part,
(K) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, printing is performed by an optical sensor provided on the print head. When the print head is moved along the guide portion to detect the width of the medium to be attempted;
(L) When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head at a constant speed below the predetermined speed along the guide unit, in order to replace the cartridge mounted on the print head. When the print head is moved to a predetermined position,
(M) Before printing on the medium by the print head, the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed, The determination unit determines whether the print head performs a stick-slip operation,
(N) The printing apparatus includes a nozzle that discharges ink toward the medium in order to perform printing on the medium. Controlling a motor to move a print head that performs printing on a medium at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along a guide portion that guides the print head along a predetermined direction;
Detecting a moving speed of the print head moved by the motor;
Determining whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation based on the detected moving speed;
A stick-slip detection method comprising: Controlling a motor to move a print head that performs printing on a medium at a constant speed below a predetermined speed along a guide portion that guides the print head along a predetermined direction;
Detecting a moving speed of the print head moved by the motor;
Determining whether the print head has performed a stick-slip operation based on the detected moving speed;
A program characterized by executing A printing system comprising a computer and a printing device connectable to the computer,
The printing apparatus includes: a print head that performs printing on a medium;
A motor for moving the print head;
A guide portion for guiding the print head along a predetermined direction;
A motor control unit for controlling the motor;
A speed detecting unit for detecting a moving speed of the print head;
When the motor control unit controls the motor to move the print head along the guide unit at a constant speed below a predetermined speed, the printing is performed based on the moving speed detected by the speed detecting unit. A determination unit for determining whether or not the head has performed a stick-slip operation;
A printing system comprising:

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