JP2008030217A - Inkjet printer, and heating control method of power supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer which suppresses a rise in temperature of a power supply device, and a heating control method of the power supply device. <P>SOLUTION: An instantaneous power computing means 42 computes a value relating to an instantaneous consumption power of each of at least two or more components 14, 15, 16 to be a heating source in all of or a part of the components the power of which is supplied from the power supply device 51. A power source accumulated heat computing means 43 computes a total value of the instantaneous consumption power by each of the components 14, 15, 16 while considering radiation of heat of the power supply device 51 to operate its heat accumulation value 31. In the case where the heat accumulation value 31 is not less than a predetermined threshold, a control means 44 waits for a predetermined period of break time when predetermined controlling using the component 16 the power of which is supplied from the power supply device 51, is made, and then the control means 44 starts the predetermined controlling. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer and a heat generation control method for a power supply device thereof.

  Patent Document 1 calculates the unit heat generation amount per pass from the current value (execution current value) of the carriage motor when the carriage makes one pass and the movement time of the carriage, obtains the current heat generation temperature, and calculates the heat generation temperature. Discloses a recording apparatus in which a pause time is provided for each pass of the carriage when the value exceeds a threshold value. This limits the heat generation of the electric motor.

JP 2003-159857 A (abstract, claims, detailed description of the invention, etc.)

  The ink jet printer has a power supply device. For example, when the electric motor is driven at a high speed to increase the throughput or a small electric motor is used as the power supply device, the supplied power increases and the temperature rises to a higher temperature. In addition, even if the power supply device does not increase in power supply, if the ink jet printer or the power supply device itself is downsized, it easily rises to a higher temperature.

  The ink jet printer needs to be designed so that unnecessary air flow does not occur inside the housing in order for the ink to fly along a predetermined trajectory. Therefore, the inside of the ink jet printer tends to be blocked from the external atmosphere. Therefore, the power supply device disposed inside the ink jet printer is difficult to be naturally cooled. In addition, it is difficult to provide a fan for forcibly cooling the power supply device inside the housing. Further, if a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the power supply device is provided, the cost increases.

  An object of the present invention is to obtain an ink jet printer capable of suppressing a temperature rise of a power supply device and a heat generation control method for the power supply device.

  An inkjet printer according to the present invention includes a power supply device that supplies power to a plurality of components used in the inkjet printer, a plurality of components, or a part of the plurality of components, and at least two or more By integrating the instantaneous power calculation means for calculating the value related to the instantaneous power consumption for each component that becomes the heat source and the total value of the instantaneous power consumption for each component in consideration of the heat dissipation of the power supply device A power supply heat storage calculating means for calculating a heat storage value of the power supply device, and a predetermined pause when performing a predetermined control using a component fed by the power supply device when the heat storage value of the power supply device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Control means for waiting for the passage of time and starting the predetermined control thereafter.

  If this configuration is adopted, power consumption of at least two or more components that are power sources supplied by the power supply device is integrated. Then, if the heat storage value of the power supply device obtained by integrating it is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, wait for the elapse of a predetermined pause time, and then start predetermined control using components supplied by the power supply device To do. The power supply is cooled by the downtime.

  Another inkjet printer according to the present invention includes a power supply device that supplies power to a plurality of motors used in the inkjet printer, a plurality of motors, or a part of the plurality of components, and at least two or more. By storing the instantaneous power consumption calculation means for calculating the instantaneous power consumption value for each motor and the total instantaneous power consumption value for each motor in consideration of the heat dissipation of the power supply device, When the heat storage value of the power source storage unit for calculating the value and the heat storage value of the power source device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the predetermined pause time is waited for during the predetermined control using the motor fed by the power source device, And a control means for starting the predetermined control thereafter.

  By adopting this configuration, the temperature rise of the power supply device can be suppressed by the downtime according to the integrated value of the power consumption of at least two or more motors fed by the power supply device.

  Another inkjet printer according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described configuration of the invention. In other words, the plurality of motors supplied with power by the power supply device transports the first transport motor used for transporting the print medium from the paper feed tray and the print medium transported by the first transport motor to the printing position. A second transport motor used for the purpose and a carriage motor used for driving the carriage. Then, the control means waits for the elapse of the pause time during the print control for driving the carriage motor, and then starts the print control using the carriage motor.

  If this structure is employ | adopted, a 1st conveyance motor and a 2nd conveyance motor will be driven simultaneously, and will consume electric power. Even if the temperature of the power supply device rises as a result of the power consumption, the power supply device can be cooled during the rest period in the subsequent print control using the carriage motor. Without interfering with the synchronous operation of the first transport motor and the second transport motor, it is possible to provide a pause time of the power supply device corresponding thereto and control the temperature increase of the power supply device during printing. .

  In addition to the components of the above-described invention, another ink jet printer according to the present invention integrates values related to instantaneous power consumption for each motor calculated by the instantaneous power calculation means in consideration of heat radiation of each motor. Thus, individual heat storage calculation means for calculating the heat storage value of each motor is provided. And a control means is the heat storage level of the power supply device judged by the heat storage value of the power supply device integrated by the power heat storage calculation means, and the heat storage value of each motor judged by the individual heat storage calculation means. Wait for the downtime at the highest heat storage level to elapse among the plurality of heat storage levels.

  If this structure is employ | adopted, rest time will be according to the highest heat storage level in a power supply device and each motor. Therefore, the power supply device and each motor can be cooled by this pause time. In addition, it is possible to prevent an unnecessary decrease in the number of printed sheets per unit time (throughput).

  A heat generation control method for a power supply apparatus that supplies power to a plurality of components used in an inkjet printer according to the present invention includes the following steps. That is, a step of calculating a value related to instantaneous power consumption for each of a plurality of constituent elements or a part of the plurality of constituent elements and serving as at least two or more heat sources; The step of calculating the heat storage value of the power supply device by integrating the total instantaneous power consumption considering the heat dissipation of the power supply device, and when the heat storage value of the power supply device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, In the case of the predetermined control using the component supplied with power, there are a step of waiting for the elapse of the predetermined pause time and a step of starting the predetermined control after waiting for the elapse of the predetermined pause time.

  If this method is adopted, the power consumption of at least two or more components serving as heat sources supplied by the power supply device is integrated, and the heat storage value of the power supply device obtained by integrating the power consumption is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. Waits for the elapse of a predetermined pause time, and then starts predetermined control using the components fed by the power supply device. The power supply is cooled by the downtime.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention and a heat generation control method for the power supply apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ink jet printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet printer 1 includes an LD (retard) roller 3, a PF roller 4, and a paper discharge roller 6. The LD roller 3 is rotationally driven by an ASF motor 14 as a first transport motor. The PF roller 4 and the paper discharge roller 6 are rotationally driven by a PF motor 15 as a second transport motor. When both the LD roller 3 and the PF roller 4 are rotationally driven, a sheet as a kind of print medium on the paper feed tray 2 is conveyed to a printing position on the platen 5. The paper at the paper feed position is discharged to the paper discharge tray 7 by rotating the paper discharge roller 6 and the like. Hereinafter, the paper feeding direction is referred to as a sub-scanning direction, and a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction is referred to as a main scanning direction.

  The inkjet printer 1 has a carriage 8. A recording head (not shown) for ejecting ink is provided on the platen 5 side of the carriage 8. The carriage 8 moves on the platen 5 in the main scanning direction by driving a CR (carriage) motor 16.

  The ink jet printer 1 includes a second rotary encoder 11 that detects the rotational speed of the ASF motor 14, a first rotary encoder 12 that detects the paper conveyance speed by the PF roller 4, and a linear encoder 13 that detects the movement speed of the carriage 8. A motor driver 17 that supplies power for driving the PF motor 15, the ASF motor 14, the CR motor 16, and the like, an ASIC 18 that is a kind of microcomputer, and a microcomputer 19.

  The microcomputer 19 includes a memory 21 and a timer 22. The memory 21 stores heat storage data 32, 33, 34 for each of the motors 14, 15, 16, total heat storage data 31 for the plurality of motors 14, 15, 16, and downtime tables 36, 37, 38 for each of the motors 14, 15, 16. Then, the power supply suspension time table 35 corresponding to the power supply device 51 is stored. When the central processing unit (not shown) of the microcomputer 19 executes the program, the main control unit 41, the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 as the instantaneous power calculation unit, the power storage storage calculation unit and the heat storage update unit 43 as the individual heat storage calculation unit, control A printing control unit 44, a PF control unit 45, and an ASF control unit 46 as means are functionally realized.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the power supply suspension time table 35 in FIG. The power supply stop time table 35 has a range of each heat storage value and a stop time for each of the four heat storage levels. Note that the PF downtime table 37, the ASF downtime table 36, and the CR downtime table 38, which are downtime tables for the motors 14, 15, and 16, respectively, have the same data structure, and the range of heat storage values for each heat storage level and the downtime Have time. Note that these tables 35, 36, 37, and 38 may have a pause time ratio or the like for generating a pause time by multiplying the previous drive time instead of the pause time. .

  The above components of the inkjet printer 1 are supplied with power by a power supply device 51 provided in the inkjet printer 1.

  Next, the operation of the inkjet printer 1 having the above configuration will be described. When the power is turned on, the configuration of FIG. 1 is realized in the inkjet printer 1. In the initialization process, the main control unit 41 instructs the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 and the heat storage update unit 43 to start up.

  The instantaneous power calculation unit 42 performs measurement processing of the instantaneous power value of each motor 14, 15, 16 every time a predetermined measurement time (for example, several tens of milliseconds) is measured by the timer 22. For example, the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 calculates the rotation speed of the PF motor 15 from the sheet conveyance speed based on the first rotary encoder 12 read from the ASIC 18 and calculates the instantaneous power value of the PF motor 15 from the rotation speed. . Similarly, the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 calculates the rotational speed of the CR motor 16 from the moving speed of the carriage 8 based on the linear encoder 13, calculates the instantaneous power value of the CR motor 16 from the rotational speed, The instantaneous power value of the ASF motor 14 is calculated from the rotational speed of the ASF motor 14 based on the rotary encoder 11.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing how to obtain the instantaneous current flowing through the PF motor 15 (DC motor) in FIG. The PF motor 15 can be represented by an equivalent circuit in which an induction voltage source 62 is connected to an internal resistor 61. The induced voltage source 62 generates an induced electromotive voltage corresponding to the rotational speed at the rated voltage of the PF motor 15. As shown in FIG. 3, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the PF motor 15 by the motor driver 17, a current I flows through the circuit of FIG. This current I can be calculated by the following equation 1. In the following formula 1, Vs is a voltage applied to the PF motor 15, a duty ratio is a duty ratio of a voltage applied to the PF motor 15, and R is an internal resistance 61 of the PF motor 15.

  I = {Vs × duty ratio− (Vs × rotation speed of PF motor 15 / rotational speed at rated voltage of PF motor 15)} / R (1)

  For example, the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 calculates the rotation speed of the PF motor 15 from the sheet conveyance speed based on the first rotary encoder 12, and further calculates the current value I according to the above equation 1. Then, the instantaneous power calculation unit 42 calculates, for example, a value obtained by multiplying the calculated current value I squared by the measurement time as an instantaneous power value of the PF motor 15.

  Each time a predetermined update time (for example, 60 seconds) is measured by the timer 22, the heat storage update unit 43 calculates the cumulative heat storage value of each motor 14, 15, 16 and the total cumulative heat storage value thereof. Calculate. For example, the heat storage update unit 43 calculates a total power value by integrating a plurality of instantaneous power values calculated after the previous heat storage update time for the PF motor 15, the ASF motor 14, and the CR motor 16, and calculated the previous time. The total heat storage value is multiplied by a predetermined heat dissipation coefficient (for example, 0.93) and added to calculate a new total heat storage value. The heat storage update unit 43 calculates a new heat storage value for each of the motors 14, 15, 16 by the same calculation process. The heat storage update unit 43 updates the respective heat storage data 31, 32, 33, and 34 stored in the memory 21 of the microcomputer 19 with the calculated total heat storage value and the heat storage value for each of the motors 14, 15, and 16.

  When the instant power calculation unit 42 and the heat storage update unit 43 are instructed to start and the initialization process is completed, the main control unit 41 waits for print data. When the in-jet printer 1 receives print data from a personal computer (not shown), the main control unit 41 starts print processing. The main control unit 41 instructs the PF control unit 45 and the ASF control unit 46 to perform a paper feeding operation.

  When a paper feed operation is instructed, the PF control unit 45 reads PF paper feed control data (not shown) from the memory 21 and supplies a control target value to the ASIC 18 at predetermined time intervals. The ASIC 18 compares the control target value supplied by a DC unit (not shown) with the speed detected by the first rotary encoder 11. The ASIC 18 outputs a command value by PID control or the like based on this comparison to the motor driver 17. The motor driver 17 drives the PF motor 15 to rotate.

  Similarly, when a paper feed operation is instructed, the ASF control unit 46 reads ASF paper feed control data (not shown) from the memory 21 and supplies the control target value to the ASIC 18. The ASIC 18 outputs a command value to the motor driver 17, and the motor driver 17 rotationally drives the ASF motor 14. As a result, the PF motor 15 and the ASF motor 14 are rotationally driven by independent and independent control by the PF control unit 45 and the ASF control unit 46. The paper on the paper feed tray 2 is transported by the LD roller 3, and the paper transported by the LD roller 3 is transported to the printing position on the platen 5 by the PF roller 4.

  When the above sheet feeding operation is completed, the PF control unit 45 and the ASF control unit 46 end the sheet feeding drive. The main control unit 41 instructs the printing control unit 44 to perform a printing operation.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of print control executed by the print control unit 44 in FIG. First, the print control unit 44 reads the total heat storage data 31 and the power stop time table 35 from the memory 21, and determines the heat storage level by the power supply of the power supply device 51. The print control unit 44 first reads the heat storage data 32, 33, 34 and the downtime tables 36, 37, 38 of the motors 14, 15, 16 from the memory 21, and stores the heat storage levels of the motors 14, 15, 16. Is determined (step ST1). For example, the print control unit 44 compares the range of each heat storage level in the power stop time table 35 illustrated in FIG. 2 with the total heat storage value of the total heat storage data 31 to determine the heat storage level of the power supply device 51.

  After determining the heat storage level of the power supply device 51 and the heat storage level of each of the motors 14, 15, 16, the print control unit 44 specifies the highest heat storage level among them (step ST 2). For example, when the heat storage level of the power supply device 51 is “2” and the heat storage levels of the motors 14, 15, 16 are “1”, the heat storage level “2” of the power supply device 51 is specified as the maximum heat storage level.

  After specifying the maximum heat storage level, the print control unit 44 determines whether or not the suspension control is necessary based on the maximum heat storage level (step ST3). The print control unit 44 determines that no pause is required when the heat storage level of all the motors 14, 15, 16 and the heat storage level of the power supply device 51 are lower than the minimum heat storage levels of the respective pause time tables 35, 36, 37, 38. To do. The print control unit 44 starts control of a print operation described later (step ST6). In other cases, the print control unit 44 determines that a pause is necessary, and executes a significant pause time setting process.

  If it is determined that the pause is necessary, the print control unit 44 reads the pause time corresponding to the specified highest heat storage level from the pause time tables 35 to 38 corresponding to the highest heat storage level. For example, when the maximum heat storage level is “2” of the power supply device 51, the print control unit 44 reads the pause time “200 (milliseconds)” in FIG. 2 (step ST4). Then, the print control unit 44 refers to the timer 22 and waits for the pause time to elapse (step ST5). When the pause time elapses, the print control unit 44 starts control of the print operation (step ST6).

  In the control of the printing operation, the printing control unit 44 drives the CR motor 16. By driving the CR motor 16, the carriage 8 moves at a constant speed in the main scanning direction. The recording head of the carriage 8 ejects ink based on the print data. Thereby, ink adheres to a portion of the paper that is being fed to the printing position.

  When the above print control by the print control unit 44 is completed, the main control unit 41 instructs the PF control unit 45 to perform a paper feeding operation. The PF control unit 45 drives the PF motor 15 and executes paper feed control. As a result, the paper fed to the printing position is sent with a predetermined width.

  When the paper feed operation is completed until, for example, the print data ends or the trailing edge of the paper passes the print position, the main control unit 41 determines the print operation as a control operation to be executed next, When the printing operation is completed, a paper feeding operation is determined as a control operation to be executed next. As a result, the paper fed to the printing position is fed by a predetermined width, and ink adheres every time the paper is fed. An image based on the print data is printed on the paper fed to the printing position. Further, the print control unit 44 executes the process shown in FIG. 4 every time a print operation is instructed, and waits for a pause time according to the maximum heat storage level determined at the time of execution as necessary (steps ST1 to ST5). Then, print control is executed (step ST6).

  When the print data is finished or the trailing edge of the paper passes the printing position, the main control unit 41 determines a paper discharge operation as a control operation to be executed next, and performs a paper discharge operation to the PF control unit 45. Instruct. The PF control unit 45 drives the PF motor 15 and executes paper discharge control. As a result, the sheet fed to the printing position is discharged to the discharge tray 7. Further, the PF control unit 45 updates the PF final drive time data with the drive time of the PF motor 15.

  When printing is continuously performed on a plurality of sheets, the main control unit 41 may instruct a paper supply / discharge operation instead of an instruction for a paper discharge operation and a subsequent paper supply operation. The main control unit 41 instructs the PF control unit 45 and the ASF control unit 46 to perform a paper supply / discharge operation. The PF motor 15 and the ASF motor 14 are driven. As a result, the sheet at the printing position is discharged to the discharge tray 7 and the next unprinted sheet is fed from the sheet feeding tray 2 to the printing position.

  As described above, in the ink jet printer 1 according to this embodiment, the power supply device 51 supplies power to the PF motor 15, ASF motor 14, and CR motor 16. The PF motor 15 is driven in a paper feed operation, a paper feed operation, a paper discharge operation, and a paper supply / discharge operation. The ASF motor 14 is driven in the paper feeding operation and the paper feeding / discharging operation. The CR motor 16 is driven in the printing operation. The print control unit 44 determines the highest heat storage level in the motors 14, 15, 16 and the power supply device 51, and controls a predetermined printing operation after a pause time corresponding to the highest heat storage level has elapsed. Execute.

  FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the inkjet printer 1 during a certain period. 5A shows the rotational speed of the PF motor 15, FIG. 5B shows the rotational speed of the CR motor 16, FIG. 5C shows the temperature of the power supply device 51, and FIG. D) is a heat storage value (total heat storage value) of the power supply device 51. The horizontal axis is time. As shown in FIG. 5, the temperature of the power supply device 51 rises when the PF motor 15 or the CR motor 16 is driven, and when the PF motor 15 or the CR motor 16 is not driven, it is cooled by heat dissipation. descend. The total heat storage value increases or decreases in accordance with the temperature increase / decrease of the power supply device 51.

  And as shown in the update period of the 3rd step of FIG.5 (D), when the thermal storage value (total thermal storage value) of the power supply device 51 becomes more than the lower limit "40" of a thermal storage level, and it is the highest thermal storage level. The print control unit 44 waits for a significant pause time using the pause time “100 (milliseconds)” in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the print control unit 44 waits for the pause time to elapse before starting control of the print operation.

  As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the total driving time of the CR motor 16 and the PF motor 15 in the third stage update period is shorter than that in the second stage, for example. The power consumption of the CR motor 16 and the PF motor 15 is reduced, the temperature rise of the power supply device 51 is suppressed, and the increase in the total heat storage value is also suppressed. In FIG. 5D, the heat storage value (total heat storage value) of the power supply device 51 is suppressed without increasing to the fourth stage, and is maintained at the same value as the third stage. In addition, when such rest control is not performed, the heat storage value (total heat storage value) of the power supply device 51 rises to the fourth stage indicated by the dotted line in FIG. It will be higher than your eyes. The total heat storage value becomes higher as the drive time of the motors 14, 15, 16 becomes longer. As in this embodiment, by providing a pause time during the printing operation, the total heat storage value can be prevented from continuing to rise.

  The PF motor 15 is driven over time with the ASF motor 14 in a paper feed operation, a paper feed / discharge operation, and the like. The driving of the PF motor 15 is controlled by the PF control unit 45, and the ASF motor 14 is synchronously driven by independent control by an ASF control unit 46 different from the PF control unit 45. In such a case, if the PF control unit 45 independently calculates a pause time according to the temperature of the power supply device 51 and waits for the elapsed time, the synchronization cannot be ensured, and a correct paper feeding operation can be performed. Disappear. On the other hand, in this embodiment, when the CR motor 16 is driven, the print control unit 44 calculates and waits for all the downtime according to the temperature of the power supply device 51 and the like. During printing, the PF motor 15 and the ASF motor 14 are not driven synchronously. The downtime for cooling the power supply device 51, the PF motor 15 and the ASF motor 14 is ensured without disturbing the synchronous operation of the PF motor 15 and the ASF motor 14.

  In addition, FIG. 5 is a figure when the thermal storage value (total thermal storage value) of the power supply device 51 becomes the highest thermal storage level. In addition to this, when the heat storage value of the CR motor 16 reaches the maximum heat storage level, when the heat storage value of the PF motor 15 reaches the maximum heat storage level, or when the heat storage value of the ASF motor 14 reaches the maximum heat storage level. . Even in these cases, the print control unit 44 ensures the downtime of the motors 14, 15, and 16 determined to be the highest heat storage level from time to time. The PF motor 15, the ASF motor 14, and the CR motor 16 are cooled by this downtime. As a result, the print control unit 44 provides a pause time so as to cool not only the power supply device 51 but also the PF motor 15, the CR motor 16, the ASF motor 14, etc., and all these motors 14, It can prevent that the temperature of 15 and 16 continues rising.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the setting effect of the pause time. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis is time, and the vertical axis is the heat storage value. The heat storage value increases or decreases in conjunction with the temperature of the power supply device 51 and the motors 14, 15, and 16. When no downtime is provided, the temperatures and heat storage values of the power supply device 51 and the motors 14, 15, and 16 continue to rise as indicated by the dotted lines in the figure. When no downtime is provided, there is a limit to the period during which continuous operation is possible.

  On the other hand, when the downtime is provided, the heat storage value rises only to the heat storage level “2”, for example, as illustrated by the solid line in FIG. The inkjet printer 1 can continuously print beyond the limit period when no downtime is provided. Continuous printing is possible for a long time without burning the power supply device 51 and the motors 14, 15, and 16 due to overheating. For example, if the power supply device 51 is overheated during printing, a necessary pause time is ensured, so that continuous printing can be continued without interruption due to overheating of the power supply device 51 and the motors 14, 15, 16. .

  Moreover, in this embodiment, in each rest time table 35, 36, 37, 38, the rest time is associated with a predetermined heat storage value or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the power supply suspension time table 35, the suspension time is associated with a heat storage value “40” or more. Therefore, the value of the total heat storage data 41 corresponding to the power supply device 51 is smaller than this lower limit value, and the values of the heat storage data 32, 33, 34 corresponding to all the motors 14, 15, 16 are smaller than the same lower limit value. If no, no downtime is set. When the pause time is not set, the inkjet printer 1 can perform printing at the original printing speed (throughput).

  The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there. For example, in the above embodiment, the temperature rise of the power supply device 51 is controlled, and the temperature rises of the PF motor 15, ASF motor 14, and CR motor 16 are controlled. In addition to this, for example, the temperature of various motors such as an ASF sub motor for bringing the paper on the paper feed tray 2 into contact with the LD roller 3 at the time of paper feeding and a suction motor for sucking the ink of the carriage 8 are controlled in combination. It may be. Further, for example, the temperature rise of some motors such as only the PF motor 15 and the CR motor 16 may be controlled.

  In the above embodiment, the instantaneous power calculator 42 calculates the instantaneous power value in the measurement period of the PF motor 15 from the instantaneous conveyance speed based on the detection of the first rotary encoder 12. The first rotary encoder 12 is substantially essential in the inkjet printer 1 in order to detect the sheet conveyance distance and conveyance speed. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a dedicated sensor for detecting the temperature and current of the PF motor 15 separately.

  In the above embodiment, the print control unit 44 selects the downtime based on the total heat storage data 31 of the power supply device 51 of the inkjet printer 1 and the heat storage data 32, 33, 34 corresponding to the motors 14, 15, 16. Wait for the pause time. In addition to this, for example, the main control unit 41 selects and waits for the downtime from the total heat storage data 31 of the power supply device 51 and the heat storage data 32, 33, 34 corresponding to the motors 14, 15, 16. The drive operation may be instructed. In this case, it is possible to secure sufficient downtime required for the power supply device 51 and all the motors 14, 15, 16 and to control their temperatures.

  In the above-described embodiment, instantaneous power values for the PF motor 15, the CR motor 16, and the ASF motor 14 are calculated, and the total power value is used as the heat storage value (total heat storage value) of the power supply device 51. In addition to these motors 14, 15, and 16, the power supply device 51 supplies power to a plurality of piezoelectric elements provided in a plurality of nozzles of the recording head. The power consumption by the plurality of piezo elements is large. The instantaneous power calculation unit 42 calculates instantaneous power values by the plurality of piezo elements, and the heat storage update unit 43 calculates a total heat storage value obtained by adding the instantaneous power values by the plurality of piezo elements. May be. Thus, the power consumption by all the components of the inkjet printer 1 is calculated by calculating the total power consumption of the components that are heat sources that consume a large amount of power among the plurality of load members fed by the power supply device 51. The heat generation of the power supply device 51 can be suitably controlled without calculating.

  The present invention can be suitably used for an ink jet printer.

1 is a configuration diagram of an inkjet printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the power supply stop time table in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows how to obtain | require the instantaneous current which flows into the PF motor in FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of print control executed by a print control unit in FIG. 1. It is a timing chart which shows operation | movement of a certain period of an inkjet printer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the setting effect of the rest time based on a rest time table.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 paper feed tray, 8 carriage, 14 ASF motor (1st conveyance motor, 1 of several motors, 1 of several components), 15 PF motor (2nd conveyance) Motor, one of the motors, one of the components), 16 CR motor (carriage motor, one of the motors, one of the components), 42 Instantaneous power calculation unit (instantaneous power calculation unit), 43 Heat storage update unit (Power supply heat storage calculation unit, Individual heat storage calculation unit), 44 Print control unit (Control unit), 51 Power supply

Claims (5)

A power supply for supplying power to a plurality of components used in the inkjet printer;
Instantaneous power calculation means for calculating a value related to instantaneous power consumption for each of the plurality of components or a part of the plurality of components and serving as at least two or more heat sources;
A power heat storage calculating means for calculating a heat storage value of the power supply device by integrating a total value of instantaneous power consumption for each component considering the heat dissipation of the power supply device,
When the heat storage value of the power supply device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the predetermined rest time is elapsed during the predetermined control using the components supplied by the power supply device, and then the predetermined control is performed. Control means for starting
An inkjet printer characterized by comprising: A power supply device that supplies power to a plurality of motors used in an inkjet printer;
Instantaneous power calculation means for calculating a value relating to instantaneous power consumption for each of at least two or more motors, which is a part of the plurality of motors or the plurality of components.
A power heat storage calculating means for calculating a heat storage value of the power supply device by integrating a total value of instantaneous power consumption for each motor in consideration of heat dissipation of the power supply device,
When the heat storage value of the power supply device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, the predetermined control time using the motor supplied by the power supply device is waited for the elapse of a predetermined pause time, and then the predetermined control is started. Control means to
An inkjet printer characterized by comprising: The plurality of motors supplied with power by the power supply device includes a first transport motor used for transporting the print medium from the paper feed tray, and transports the print medium transported by the first transport motor to a printing position. A second transport motor used for driving and a carriage motor used for driving the carriage,
3. The ink jet printer according to claim 2, wherein the control unit waits for the pause time to elapse during print control for driving the carriage motor, and thereafter starts print control using the carriage motor. Individual heat storage calculation means for calculating the heat storage value of each motor by integrating the values relating to the instantaneous power consumption of each motor calculated by the instantaneous power calculation means in consideration of the heat radiation of each motor. Have
The control means is determined by the heat storage level of the power supply apparatus determined by the heat storage value of the power supply apparatus integrated by the power supply heat storage calculation means and the heat storage value of each motor calculated by the individual heat storage calculation means. Waiting for the quiescent time at the highest heat storage level to elapse among the plurality of heat storage levels of the motors,
The ink jet printer according to claim 2 or 3. A heat generation control method for a power supply device that supplies power to a plurality of components used in an inkjet printer,
Calculating a value related to instantaneous power consumption for each of the plurality of components or a part of the plurality of components and serving as at least two heat sources; and
A step of calculating a heat storage value of the power supply device by integrating a total value of instantaneous power consumption for each component considering the heat dissipation of the power supply device, and
When the heat storage value of the power supply device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, waiting for the elapse of a predetermined pause time during the predetermined control using the components fed by the power supply device;
A step of starting the predetermined control after waiting for the elapse of the predetermined pause time;
A method for controlling heat generation of a power supply device, comprising:

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