JP2008109343A - Motor controller, printer, printer multifunction machine, and motor control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent power insufficiency from being generated by using a power supply device whose supply capability is not so high in a motor controller using a plurality of driving motors such as a printer multifunction machine. <P>SOLUTION: The power supply device of the printer multifunction machine (motor controller) 1 is configured to supply power which is smaller than the total sum of the peak power of a plurality of driving motors 41 to 45. In newly driving the plurality of driving motors 41 to 45 under suspension, control means 74 to 79 for driving the driving motors 41 to 45 start the driving of the driving motors 41 to 45 under suspension when confirming that the total sum of the peak power of all the driving motors 41 to 45 under accelerating operation when newly driving the driving motors 41 to 45 under suspension or the total sum of the peak power of all the driving motors 41 to 45 under operation can be prevented from exceeding the suppliable power capacity of the power supply device 54. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a motor control device, a printing device, a printer multifunction peripheral, and a motor control method.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing apparatus having a scanner unit, a printer unit, and a system control unit. The system control unit switches the device between a normal state and a low power state according to the usage state of the device, and controls the power consumption state of the entire device. The scanner unit and the printer unit individually execute power saving control independently of each other under the switching of the system control unit. For example, the scanner unit and the printer unit perform on / off control of power supplied to each sensor. Thereby, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus can be switched according to the state of the apparatus.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-124132 (Summary, Embodiment of the Invention, Drawing, eg, Paragraph 0025, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc.)

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printer device or the like, a power supply device having a power supply capability larger than the sum of peak powers of all drive motors used in the printer device is used. The size and heat generation of the power supply device are obstacles to downsizing and cost reduction of the printer device. In particular, in a printer multifunction device having a scanner function as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the size and heat generation of the power supply device can be a factor that hinders downsizing and cost reduction of the device. Also, the power that can be used in a general home is limited, and there is a limit to the power that can be consumed by the printer multifunction device.

  The problem of the power supply capability of such a power supply device is not limited to a printer device or a printer multifunction device, but may be a problem that may occur in general motor control devices that use a plurality of drive motors.

  The present invention relates to a motor control apparatus that uses a plurality of drive motors, such as a printer multi-function machine, and that can be controlled so that power shortage does not occur while using a power supply apparatus that does not have a high supply capability. It is an object to obtain an apparatus, a printing apparatus, a printer multifunction peripheral, and a motor control method.

  A motor control device according to the present invention is a power supply device that supplies power to a plurality of drive motors and at least a plurality of drive motors, and has a power capacity that can be supplied to the plurality of drive motors. A power supply device that is smaller than the sum of the peak power and a control means for driving a plurality of drive motors, and when the stopped drive motor is newly driven, when the stopped drive motor is newly driven If it is confirmed that the sum of the peak powers of all drive motors during acceleration operation or the sum of peak powers of all drive motors during operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply, Control means for starting the drive of the drive motor.

  If this configuration is adopted, the power capacity of the power supply device of the motor control device can be reduced. The power capacity of the power supply device of the motor control device can be lower than the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors. Further, the motor control device can operate the plurality of drive motors so as not to cause power shortage by the power supply device having the reduced supply capability.

  A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described motor control apparatus in which a plurality of motors are driven for printing control.

  If this configuration is adopted, the power capacity of the power supply device of the printing apparatus can be reduced. The power capacity of the power supply device of the printing apparatus can be lower than the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors. Further, the printing apparatus can operate the plurality of drive motors so as not to cause power shortage by the power supply apparatus having the reduced supply capability.

  A printer multifunction peripheral according to the present invention includes at least a plurality of drive motors including at least a drive motor for transporting a print medium, a drive motor for driving an ink carriage, and a drive motor for driving an image sensor carriage, and at least a plurality of drive motors. A power supply device that supplies power to the plurality of drive motors, and a power capacity that can be supplied to the plurality of drive motors is smaller than the sum of all peak powers of the plurality of drive motors, and a control means that drives the plurality of drive motors. In addition, when a stopped drive motor is newly driven, the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors that are in an accelerating operation when the stopped drive motor is newly driven or all that is in operation If it is confirmed that the total peak power of the drive motors does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply, stop And control means for starting the drive of the drive motor and has a.

  If this configuration is adopted, the power capacity of the power supply device of the multifunction printer can be reduced. The power capacity of the power supply device of the multifunction printer can be set to a supply capacity lower than the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors. Further, the printer multifunction device can operate the plurality of drive motors so as not to cause power shortage by the power supply device having the reduced supply capability. In the printer multifunction device, it is possible to effectively reduce the power capacity of the power supply device by suitably utilizing the fact that all the drive motors need not be driven simultaneously.

  The printer multifunction peripheral according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the configuration of the above-described invention. In other words, the control means drives a plurality of drive motors in the control of reading the image of the read document a plurality of times by the image sensor carriage and printing the same image read a plurality of times on a plurality of print media.

  If this configuration is adopted, the power capacity of the power supply device of the multifunction printer can be reduced. The power capacity of the power supply device of the multifunction printer can be set to a supply capacity lower than the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors. Further, the multifunction printer reads the image of the read document by the image sensor carriage a plurality of times and prints the same image that is read a plurality of times on a plurality of print media by the power supply device having the reduced supply capability. The control can be executed so as not to cause power shortage.

  The printer complex machine according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the invention. In other words, the printer multifunction device has storage means for storing data during operation that is updated to values according to the drive states of the plurality of drive motors by the control means. When newly driving the stopped drive motor, the control means reads the value of the operating data, and performs a predetermined calculation based on the read value and a predetermined value previously associated with the newly driven drive motor. When the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined maximum value corresponding to the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the acceleration operation is performed when the stopped drive motor is newly driven. It is determined that the sum of the peak powers of the drive motors or the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors in operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device.

  If this configuration is adopted, the control unit can easily perform the drive during the stop by a predetermined calculation process using the in-operation data stored in the storage unit and a predetermined value previously associated with the drive motor. It can be determined whether or not the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors that are in the accelerating operation or operating when the motor is newly driven exceeds the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device. For example, the control means can make the determination without using a table or the like that stores the determination result according to the acceleration operation or the combination of the drive motors in operation.

  The printer complex machine according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the invention. That is, the predetermined value associated with each drive motor in advance is a value corresponding to the peak power of each drive motor. The control means updates the operating data based on the peak power associated with the accelerating operation or the operating one of the plurality of drive motors.

  If this configuration is adopted, even if the peak powers of the plurality of drive motors are different from each other, the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors that are in the accelerating operation or all the power that is in operation can be obtained by a simple addition process. The sum of the peak power of the drive motor can be calculated. In addition, the operating data is updated based on the peak power of each drive motor. Therefore, the control means can obtain necessary in-operation data by one read control, which is less than in the case where, for example, the same number of in-operation data as the drive motor is read. Thereby, the control means can determine whether or not the motor can be driven in a short processing time.

  The printer complex machine according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the invention. That is, the control means drives at least a drive motor that transports the print medium to drive a paper feed control unit that feeds the print medium to the print area, and drives a drive motor that transports the print medium to the print area. A paper feed control unit that transports a fed print medium by a predetermined amount; a drive motor that drives a drive motor that transports the print medium; and a paper discharge control unit that ejects the print medium from the print area; and a drive motor that drives an ink carriage A print control unit configured to drive and execute printing on a print medium in a print area; and a read control unit configured to read a predetermined image by driving a drive motor that drives the image sensor carriage. The paper feed control unit, the paper feed control unit, the paper discharge control unit, the print control unit, and the reading control unit are provided for all the drive motors that are in the accelerating operation when the drive motors are newly driven. After confirming that the sum of peak powers or the sum of peak powers of all drive motors in operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the drive of each drive motor is started.

  If this configuration is adopted, the control means includes a paper feed control unit, a paper feed control unit, a paper discharge control unit, a print control unit, and a reading control unit. The basic structure of the control means can be substantially the same as that of a conventional printer device. As a result, it is possible to divert assets that have been developed with conventional printer devices and the like. In addition, it has been developed in conventional printers as a sequence control unit that manages control by the paper feed control unit, paper feed control unit, paper discharge control unit, print control unit, reading control unit, etc., and an error processing unit. Assets can be diverted.

  The printer complex machine according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the invention. In other words, the printer multifunction device has storage means for storing data during operation that is updated to values according to the drive states of the plurality of drive motors by the control means. Then, the paper feed control unit, paper feed control unit, paper discharge control unit, print control unit, and reading control unit drive the values of the operating data before starting the drive of the respective drive motors. The value is updated by adding a predetermined value corresponding to the peak power of the motor, and when the acceleration of each drive motor is completed, the value of the operating data stored in the storage means is subtracted by the predetermined value.

  If this configuration is adopted, after the acceleration period of each drive motor is completed, the other control units can start driving the respective drive motors. The period during which the other control unit delays the drive of the drive motor can be suppressed to a period that is the minimum necessary to prevent power shortage. As a result, it is possible to minimize a decrease in printing speed or the like due to a period during which this driving is delayed.

  The printer complex machine according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the invention. That is, the control means includes a sequence control unit that instructs the start of control in a predetermined order to the paper feed control unit, the paper feed control unit, the paper discharge control unit, the print control unit, and the reading control unit. And a sequence control part instruct | indicates the start of control to the following control part before the time of the control by the control part instruct | indicated previously in the predetermined order being complete | finished.

  By instructing the start of the next control before the previous control ends in the predetermined order, the sequence control unit can make the control operations by the plurality of control units continuous. When the previous control is completed and it is determined that the operation is possible based on the value of the operating data, the next control unit starts the control.

  When control operations by a plurality of control units are continued in this way, the drive motor driven by the previous control unit and the drive motor driven by the next control unit are driven to overlap at the same time. become. Under the instruction, each control unit instructed by the sequence control unit delays the drive start timing of the drive motor as necessary so that power shortage does not occur.

  Therefore, if this configuration is adopted, the control by the plurality of control units instructed by the sequence control unit is made continuous so that processing capacity is maximized and power shortage does not occur. Can do. It is possible to balance the improvement in processing capability with the effect of reducing the power capacity of the power supply device. A high processing capacity can be obtained by making the best use of the reduced power capacity.

  Further, the sequence control unit does not need to consider power shortage when instructing control. As the sequence control unit, it is not necessary to execute a control instruction in consideration of power shortage. The sequence control unit can use the same one as that used in other printer multifunction devices or the like in which such power shortage cannot occur.

  The motor control method according to the present invention is a motor control method for controlling a plurality of drive motors. In this motor control method, when the stopped drive motor is newly driven, the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors that are in the acceleration operation when the stopped drive motor is newly driven or Determining whether or not the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors that are in operation exceeds the power capacity that can be supplied by a power supply device that can supply less than the sum of the peak powers of the plurality of drive motors; When the judgment step confirms that the total peak power does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied, the step of starting driving of the stopped drive motor is included.

  By adopting this method, the motor control device can make the power capacity of the power supply device lower than the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors. In addition, the motor control device can operate the motor control device so as not to cause power shortage by the power supply device whose supply capability is reduced as described above.

  Hereinafter, a motor control device, a printing device, a printer multifunction peripheral, and a motor control method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The motor control device and the printing device will be described as a part of the printer multifunction peripheral. The motor control method will be described as a part of the operation of the multifunction printer.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a multifunction printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction printer 1 includes an inkjet printer type printer unit, a scanner unit, and the like. The printer unit includes a paper feed tray 11, a paper discharge tray 12, and the like, and is disposed at the lower part of the housing 2 of the printer multifunction device 1. The scanner unit includes a platen glass 25, an image sensor carriage 26, a platen cover 27, and the like, and is disposed on the upper portion of the housing 2 of the printer multifunction device 1. The printer multifunction machine 1 is used with its power cable 3 connected to a commercial AC power supply 4 or the like through a power outlet of a general household.

  FIG. 2 is a device configuration diagram showing the main part of the hardware configuration of the printer multifunction device 1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is realized on the apparatus configuration of FIG. 2 when the multifunction printer 1 of FIG. 1 reads an image of a sheet placed on the platen glass 25 and prints it on a plurality of print media P, for example. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit of the multifunction printer 1 includes an LD (load) roller 13, an LD driven roller 14, a PE (paper edge) sensor 15, in addition to the paper feed tray 11 and the paper discharge tray 12 described above. PF (paper feed) roller 16, PF driven roller (not shown), PF rotary encoder 17, platen member 18, ink carriage 19, CR (carriage) linear encoder 20, paper discharge roller 21, paper discharge driven roller (not shown), etc. It has a mechanism member.

  The LD roller 13 is rotationally driven by an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) motor 41 which is one of drive motors. The ASF rotary encoder 22 outputs a pulse signal every time the ASF motor 41 rotates by a predetermined angle. The LD driven roller 14 is controlled to contact and separate from the LD roller 13 by an ASF sub motor 42 which is one of the drive motors. When the LD driven roller 14 contacts the LD roller 13, the LD driven roller 14 rotates according to the rotation of the LD roller 13. A flag member (not shown) is attached to a rotation shaft (not shown) of the ASF sub motor 42. The rotation position of the flag member is detected by the photosensor 23 (see FIG. 3). The photosensor 23 is, for example, a detection signal based on the rotational position of the flag member when the LD driven roller 14 contacts the LD roller 13 or the rotational position of the flag member when the LD driven roller 14 is separated from the LD roller 13. The detection signal based on this is output.

  The PF roller 16 is rotated together with the paper discharge roller 21 by a PF motor 43 that is one of drive motors via a gear unit (not shown). The PF rotary encoder 17 outputs a pulse signal every time the PF roller 16 rotates by a predetermined angle. The PF driven roller contacts the PF roller 16 and rotates according to the rotation of the PF roller 16. The paper discharge driven roller contacts the paper discharge roller 21 and rotates according to the rotation of the paper discharge roller 21.

  A print medium P such as plain paper is conveyed from the paper feed tray 11 to the paper discharge tray 12. The print medium P on the paper feed tray 11 starts to be conveyed from the paper feed tray 11 when the LD roller 13 is rotationally driven in a state where the LD driven roller 14 is in contact with the LD roller 13. The print medium P conveyed from the paper feed tray 11 is conveyed by the PF roller 16 and the PF driven roller, and further conveyed by the paper discharge roller 21 and the paper discharge driven roller. The print medium P discharged from between the paper discharge roller 21 and the paper discharge driven roller is placed on the paper discharge tray 12.

  A PE sensor 15 that optically detects the print medium P being transported is disposed between the LD roller 13 and the PF roller 16 with the transport path of the print medium P as a reference. Between the PF roller 16 and the paper discharge roller 21, a platen member 18 is disposed below the transport path of the print medium P.

  An ink carriage 19 is disposed above the platen member 18 so as to be movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport path of the print medium P. The print medium P passes through a print area between the ink carriage 19 and the platen member 18. The ink carriage 19 is linearly driven by a CR motor 44 which is one of drive motors. The CR linear encoder 20 outputs a pulse signal every time the ink carriage 19 moves by a predetermined amount.

  A recording head 24 (see FIG. 3) and a PW (paper width) sensor (not shown) are disposed on the side surface of the ink carriage 19 on the platen member 18 side. The recording head 24 discharges ink supplied from an ink tank (not shown) disposed in the ink carriage 19 or the like. The PW sensor detects the print medium P being fed to the print area.

  The scanner unit of the multifunction printer 1 includes mechanisms such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) 28, a drive belt 29, and an SCN (scanner) linear encoder 30 in addition to the platen glass 25, the image sensor carriage 26, and the platen cover 27 described above. It has a member.

  The platen glass 25 is, for example, A4 size transparent glass. A read document is placed on the platen glass 25. The platen cover 27 is disposed so as to be openable and closable with respect to the platen glass 25.

  The image sensor carriage 26 is disposed so as to be movable on the lower side of the platen glass 25 (the side opposite to the read original). The image sensor carriage 26 has a width slightly larger than that of the platen glass 25 and is attached to the drive belt 29. The image sensor carriage 26 moves linearly from one end to the other end of the platen glass 25 when the drive belt 29 is rotationally driven by an SCN motor 45 that is one of the drive motors.

  The image sensor carriage 26 is provided with a CIS 28 and an SCN linear encoder 30. The CIS 28 is disposed on the platen glass 25 side of the image sensor carriage 26. As a result, the CIS 28 can read the read document placed on the platen glass 25. The SCN linear encoder 30 outputs a pulse signal every time the image sensor carriage 26 moves by a predetermined amount.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer MFP 1 further includes a host IC (Integrated Circuit) 51, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 52, a motor driver IC 53, a power supply device 54, and the like.

  The motor driver IC 53 is connected to all the drive motors of the multifunction printer 1 such as the ASF motor 41, the ASF sub motor 42, the PF motor 43, the CR motor 44, and the SCN motor 45 described above. In this embodiment, all the drive motors of the printer multifunction machine 1 such as the ASF motor 41, the ASF sub motor 42, the PF motor 43, the CR motor 44, and the SCN motor 45 are DC (direct current) motors. The motor driver IC 53 supplies drive current to these drive motors. The DC motor rotates in a direction corresponding to the direction of the drive current, and rotates at a speed corresponding to the magnitude of the drive current.

  The ASIC 52 is a kind of IC, and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an input / output port, etc., not shown. A motor driver IC 53, detection signals of the various sensors described above, a host IC 51, and the like are connected to an input / output port (not shown) of the ASIC 52.

  The CPU of the ASIC 52 reads and executes a program stored in the ROM, for example. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the ASIC 52 implements a detection data generation unit 61, a detection data memory 62, a DC unit, and the like. The DC unit includes an SCN drive unit 63, a CR drive unit 64, a PF drive unit 65, an ASF drive unit 66, an ASF sub drive unit 67, a head drive unit 68, and the like.

  The detection data memory 62 is allocated to the RAM of the ASIC 52, for example. The detection data generation unit 61 writes various detection data 69 generated based on detection signals of various sensors input to the input / output port of the ASIC 52 in the detection data memory 62. Examples of various detection data 69 that the detection data generation unit 61 writes in the detection data memory 62 include the detection speed and detection rotation amount of the ASF motor 41, the detection position of the ASF sub motor 42 by the photosensor 23, and the detection speed of the PF motor 43. And the detected rotation amount, the detection speed and detection movement amount of the ink carriage 19, the detection speed and detection movement amount of the image sensor carriage 26, the presence / absence of paper detection by the PE sensor 15, and the presence / absence of paper detection by the PW sensor. .

  The SCN drive unit 63 operates the SCN motor 45 to drive the image sensor carriage 26 linearly. The CR drive unit 64 operates the CR motor 44 to drive the ink carriage 19 linearly. The PF drive unit 65 operates the PF motor 43 to rotate the PF roller 16 and the paper discharge roller 21. The ASF drive unit 66 operates the ASF motor 41 to drive the LD roller 13 to rotate. The ASF sub drive unit 67 operates the ASF sub motor 42 to switch the position of the LD driven roller 14. The head driving unit 68 operates the recording head 24 to discharge ink.

  The host IC 51 is an IC for SOC (System On a Chip), and has, for example, a timer 71, a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output port, etc., not shown. An ASIC 52 or the like is connected to the input / output port of the host IC 51 by a bus. The CPU of the host IC 51 reads and executes a program stored in the ROM, for example. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper IC 51 includes an upper memory 72 as a storage unit, a print data generation unit 73, a reading control unit 74 as a part of the control unit, and a print control as a part of the control unit. 75, a paper feed control unit 76 as a part of the control unit, a paper feed control unit 77 as a part of the control unit, a paper discharge control unit 78 as a part of the control unit, and a sequence as a part of the control unit A control unit 79 and the like are realized.

  It should be noted that the program stored in the higher-level IC 51 and the program stored in the ASIC 52 may be stored in these ICs 51 and 52 before shipment of the printer MFP 1. 1 may be stored in these ICs 51 and 52 after shipment. Some of these programs may be stored in the ICs 51 and 52 after the printer multifunction machine 1 is shipped. The programs stored in these ICs 51 and 52 after shipment of the multifunction printer 1 may be those recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, for example, the Internet. What is acquired by a computer (not shown) via a transmission medium such as may be stored.

  The upper memory 72 is assigned to the RAM of the upper IC 51, for example. The upper memory 72 stores, for example, print data 80, an acceleration flag register 81 in which operating data is stored, and the like.

  The print data 80 is data that is used for printing by the printer unit of the multifunction printer 1. Examples of such print data 80 include data described in a page description language such as ESC / Page, PostScript, HP-PCL, and LIPS.

  The in-acceleration flag register 81 is a register that stores in-operation data whose values are updated in accordance with the operation states of all the drive motors of the multifunction printer 1. For example, during the period in which only the SCN motor 45 is driven to be accelerated, the value of the operating data is updated to a predetermined value (predetermined current value) based on the maximum peak power of the SCN motor 45. When the CR motor 44 is further accelerated during the acceleration period of the SCN motor 45, the value of the data during operation is set to a predetermined value (predetermined current value) based on the maximum peak power of the SCN motor 45. The predetermined value (predetermined current value) based on the maximum peak power of the CR motor 44 is updated to a value added.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a drive current waveform when the PID speed control of the DC motor is performed. FIG. 4A shows the rotational speed of the DC motor, and FIG. 4B shows the drive current of the DC motor. In the PID speed control, the DC motor is accelerated to a predetermined rotation speed, then maintained at the rotation speed, and then decelerated and stopped. The driving current of the DC motor increases to a large peak current during the acceleration period, stabilizes at a predetermined current lower than the peak current during the constant speed period, and becomes a reverse current for stopping during the deceleration period. The value of the in-operation data stored in the in-acceleration flag register 81 is updated with a value corresponding to the maximum value of the peak current during the acceleration period of each drive motor.

  The print data generation unit 73 generates print data 80 based on the image of the read original read by the CIS 28 at the time of copying. The CIS 28 irradiates the read original with three colors of RGB light in order, and outputs data having a value corresponding to the amount of reflected light from the read original. The print data generation unit 73 buffers the data in an image buffer (not shown), for example, and generates ink ejection data in a predetermined image width unit. The print data generation unit 73 adds the paper feed instruction data, the plurality of paper feed instruction data, the paper discharge instruction data, and the like to the plurality of ink ejection data, and generates the print data 80. The print data generation unit 73 writes the generated print data 80 into the upper memory 72.

  The reading control unit 74 instructs the target speed of the image sensor carriage 26 to the SCN driving unit 63 at the time of reading. The print control unit 75 instructs the CR drive unit 64 on the target speed of the ink carriage 19 and the like during printing. Further, the print control unit 75 supplies ink ejection data included in the print data 80 to the head drive unit 68. The paper feed control unit 76 instructs the target position to the ASF sub drive unit 67 and instructs the target speed and the like to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65 during printing. The paper feed control unit 77 instructs the target speed and the like to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65. The paper discharge control unit 78 instructs the target speed and the like to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65.

  The sequence control unit 79 is based on the operation command from the operation panel 5 in FIG. 1, and these reading control unit 74, print control unit 75, paper feed control unit 76, paper feed control unit 77, paper discharge control unit 78, etc. To start control. The printer multifunction device 1 executes a scanning operation by the scanner unit, a printing operation by the printer unit, a copying operation by the scanner unit and the printer unit, and the like. For example, when a copy operation is instructed, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the reading control unit 74 to start the operation, and prints to the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, and the print control unit 75. The operation start based on the data 80 is instructed. In particular, the sequence control unit 79 can instruct the next control unit to start control based on the time information of the timer 71 before the time point when the control by the previous control unit ends.

  The power supply device 54 supplies power to the above-described components of the printer multifunction device 1. The power supply device 54 converts commercial AC power supplied from the power cable 3 into DC power having a predetermined voltage, for example. The power supply device 54 supplies this DC power to, for example, the host IC 51, the ASIC 52, the motor driver IC 53, and the like. The motor driver IC 53 controls drive motors such as the ASF motor 41, the ASF sub motor 42, the PF motor 43, the CR motor 44, and the SCN motor 45 using the supplied electric power. The ASF motor 41, ASF sub motor 42, PF motor 43, CR motor 44, and SCN motor 45 operate with electric power supplied from the power supply device 54.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining the power capacity of the power supply device 54 in FIG. The five waveforms on the left side of FIG. 5 are drive current waveforms of drive motors such as the SCN motor 45, the CR motor 44, the PF motor 43, the ASF motor 41, and the ASF sub motor 42. These five waveforms are drive current waveforms including the time when the peak current of each drive motor becomes maximum.

  Among the five drive motors, FIG. 5 illustrates a case where the maximum peak currents of the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 are maximum. In this embodiment, based on this, a predetermined current value used for calculation of each drive motor is determined. Specifically, for example, the predetermined current value of the PF motor 43 and the predetermined current value of the ASF motor 41 are “5”, the predetermined current value of the CR motor 44 is “3”, and the predetermined current value of the SCN motor 45 is “2”, the predetermined current value of the ASF sub motor 42 is determined to be “1”. The ratio of the predetermined current values of the plurality of drive motors has a certain correlation with the ratio of the maximum peak current values of the plurality of drive motors. The drive motor is associated with a larger predetermined current value as the maximum peak current value is larger. Further, a predetermined upper limit value that is compared with these predetermined current values and that corresponds to the power supply capability to a plurality of drive motors of the power supply device 54 to be described later is determined to be “10”, for example.

  In this embodiment, the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 that supplies power to the five drive motors and the like is determined as follows. This is an example. Specifically, as shown on the right side of FIG. 5, the instantaneous power at the maximum peak current value of the PF motor 43 is added to the sum of the instantaneous power in the constant speed period of each drive motor in the waveform having the maximum peak current. The value obtained by adding the difference between the instantaneous power during the constant speed period and the difference between the instantaneous power at the maximum peak current value of the ASF motor 41 and the instantaneous power during the constant speed period is the power supply of the plurality of drive motors. Decided to be an ability. By setting the power supply capability to such a plurality of drive motors, the power supply device 54 simultaneously drives the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 while all other drive motors are driven at a constant speed. Allows to start and accelerate to a predetermined speed. The power supply device 54 can supply electric power necessary for the control to a plurality of drive motors.

  As shown as a comparative example in FIG. 5, in the conventional printer multifunction device 1, the sum of instantaneous power at the maximum peak current value of all the drive motors is the power supply capability of the plurality of drive motors. It is decided to be. In the case of this conventional example, a power supply capability that is significantly larger than the power supply capability of the plurality of drive motors in this embodiment is required.

  Next, the operation of the printer multifunction machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 having the above configuration will be described. Here, an example of an operation in which an image of a read original placed on the platen glass 25 is repeatedly read by the scanner unit a plurality of times and each image read by the printer unit is continuously printed on a plurality of print media P is taken as an example. The operation of the multifunction machine 1 will be described. That is, an operation for copying an image of one read original placed on the platen glass 25 to a plurality of print media P will be described as an example.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing an operation state of each control unit when the multifunction printer 1 of FIG. 1 performs a copy operation. In FIG. 6, an arrow with a downward dotted line is an instruction to start driving control to each control unit by the sequence control unit 79. The arrow line by the horizontal solid line described corresponding to each control part shows the drive period of each drive motor. Each drive motor is accelerated, driven at a constant speed, and driven at a reduced speed, for example, by PID speed control during this drive period.

  In an operation of reading an image of a single read original placed on the platen glass 25 a plurality of times and copying the same image read a plurality of times to a plurality of print media P, the sequence control unit 79 first selects 1 A sequence for copying to the first printing medium P is started. The sequence control unit 79 instructs the reading control unit 74, the print control unit 75, the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, and the paper discharge control unit 78 to start control in a predetermined order for copying.

  In the copy process to the first print medium P, the sequence control unit 79 first instructs the reading control unit 74 to start control. The reading control unit 74 instructs the SCN driving unit 63 on the initial target speed of the image sensor carriage 26. The SCN drive unit 63 compares the target speed with the detection speed of the image sensor carriage 26 stored in the detection data memory 62, calculates a PID control command value corresponding to the speed deviation, and sends it to the motor driver IC 53. The drive current corresponding to the calculated control command value is supplied to the SCN motor 45. The SCN motor 45 rotationally drives the drive belt 29 at a speed corresponding to the drive current. The image sensor carriage 26 starts to move from the home position at one end of the platen glass 25 toward the other end.

  The reading control unit 74 updates the target speed at a predetermined cycle. For example, the reading control unit 74 updates the target speed to a value higher than the currently instructed target speed in order to increase the speed. The SCN drive unit 63 updates the PID control command value, and the drive speed of the image sensor carriage 26 by the SCN motor 45 increases following the tracking. Various detection data 69 stored in the detection data memory 62 is periodically updated by the detection data generation unit 61. When the detection speed of the image sensor carriage 26 stored in the detection data memory 62 reaches a predetermined setting speed, the reading control unit 74 holds the target speed at that speed. Thereby, the drive speed of the image sensor carriage 26 is stabilized at the predetermined target speed. The image sensor carriage 26 moves at a constant speed.

  The CIS 28 on the image sensor carriage 26 reads the read original placed on the platen glass 25 and outputs the read data to the print data generation unit 73. The print data generation unit 73 generates print data 80 for printing an image of a read original read by the CIS 28 based on the read data of the CIS 28. The print data generation unit 73 stores the generated print data 80 in the upper memory 72.

  Immediately after the print data generation unit 73 starts generating the print data 80, the upper memory 72 stores partial print data 80 in which a part of the image of the read original can be printed. The print data 80 for printing all one image of the read original is stored in the upper memory 72 after the image sensor carriage 26 has finished moving to the other end of the platen glass 25. Each data of the print data 80 stored in the upper memory 72 may be deleted from the upper memory 72 when printing control is performed by a printer unit described later.

  When the image sensor carriage 26 moves to the other end of the platen glass 25, the reading control unit 74 decreases the target speed stepwise, and finally sets the target speed to “0”. The SCN drive unit 63 calculates a PID control command value for decreasing the drive speed of the image sensor carriage 26 so that the detection speed of the image sensor carriage 26 decreases following the target speed, and calculates the calculated value to the motor driver IC 53. A drive current corresponding to the control command value is supplied to the SCN motor 45. As a result, the drive speed of the image sensor carriage 26 decreases following the target speed, and the image sensor carriage 26 finally stops.

  After instructing the reading control unit 74 to start control for the copy process to the first print medium P, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the paper feed control unit 76 to start control before the reading process ends. Instruct. The sequence control unit 79 instructs the paper feed control unit 76 to start control based on the presence of paper feed instruction data at the beginning of the print data 80.

  First, the paper feed control unit 76 designates a target position for bringing the LD driven roller 14 into contact with the LD roller 13 in the ASF sub drive unit 67. The ASF sub drive unit 67 causes the motor driver IC 53 to supply a drive current to the ASF sub motor 42. When the detection position of the ASF sub motor 42 by the photo sensor 23 is a position where the ASF sub drive unit 67 comes into contact with the LD roller 13, the ASF sub drive unit 67 stops the supply of drive current from the motor driver IC 53 to the ASF sub motor 42. As a result, the LD driven roller 14 contacts the LD roller 13.

  When the LD driven roller 14 comes into contact with the LD roller 13, the paper feed control unit 76 instructs each target speed to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65. Note that the target speed of the ASF drive unit 66 and the target speed of the PF drive unit 65 have a relationship in which the conveyance speed of the print medium P by the LD roller 13 and the conveyance speed of the print medium P by the PF roller 16 substantially coincide. .

  The ASF drive unit 66 compares this target speed with the detected speed of the ASF motor 41 stored in the detection data memory 62, calculates a PID control command value corresponding to the speed deviation, and sends it to the motor driver IC 53. A drive current corresponding to the calculated control command value is supplied to the ASF motor 41. The ASF motor 41 rotationally drives the LD roller 13 at a speed corresponding to the drive current. The print medium P on the paper feed tray 11 starts to be conveyed by the rotating LD roller 13. When a plurality of print media P are placed on the paper feed tray 11, the second and lower print media P from the top are maintained on the paper feed tray 11 by the LD driven roller 14.

  The print medium P that has started to be fed is detected by the PE sensor 15 and then supplied between the PF roller 16 and the PF driven roller by the rotation of the LD roller 13. The PF roller 16 is rotationally driven by the PID control command value calculated by the PF drive unit 65 according to the speed deviation between the target speed and the detected speed of the PF motor 43. The print medium P supplied between the PF roller 16 and the PF driven roller is sandwiched between the PF roller 16 and the PF driven roller and fed to the printing area.

  Further, the paper feed instructing unit decreases the target speed to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65 step by step before feeding the print medium P to the print area, and finally sets the target speed to “0”. To. The ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65 calculate the PID control command value so that the detected speed decreases following the target speed, and the drive current corresponding to the calculated control command value is sent to the motor driver IC 53 by the SCN motor. 45. As a result, the print medium P is fed and stopped at a predetermined paper feed position with respect to the print area.

  The sequence control unit 79 confirming that a predetermined time has elapsed with reference to the time of the timer 71 before the paper feed processing by the paper feed control unit 76 is finished, for example, instructs the print control unit 75 to start control. To do. The sequence control unit 79 instructs the print control unit 75 to start control based on the fact that there is ink ejection data next to the paper feed instruction data in the print data 80.

  The print controller 75 instructs the CR drive unit 64 on the target speed of the ink carriage 19 based on a predetermined speed curve. The CR drive unit 64 supplies drive current from the motor driver IC 53 to the SCN motor 45 so that the detection speed of the ink carriage 19 becomes the instructed target speed. Further, the print control unit 75 supplies the ink ejection data in the print data 80 to the head drive unit 68 during the period in which the ink carriage 19 moves in the print region. A recording head 24 (not shown) disposed in the ink carriage 19 ejects ink based on ink ejection data while scanning the printing area. As a result, ink adheres to a portion within the print region in the paper surface that is the recording medium.

  The sequence control unit 79 that confirms that a predetermined time has elapsed with reference to the time of the timer 71 before the print processing by the print control unit 75 is finished, for example, feeds the paper next to the ink ejection data in the print data 80. Based on the presence of the instruction data, it instructs the paper feed control unit 77 to start control.

  The paper feed control unit 77 executes control for transporting the print medium P by a predetermined paper feed amount (for example, a paper feed amount corresponding to the print width of the recording head 24). First, the paper feed control unit 77 instructs the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65 to set respective target speeds to be accelerated to a predetermined transport speed. The ASF motor 41 rotates and drives the LD roller 13 at a speed corresponding to the control command value calculated by the ASF drive unit 66 by the motor driver IC 53. The PF motor 43 rotationally drives the PF roller 16 at a speed corresponding to the control command value calculated by the PF drive unit 65 by the motor driver IC 53.

  After the rotational driving of the LD roller 13 and the PF roller 16 is started, the paper feed control unit 77 determines whether or not a predetermined paper feed amount is reached based on the periodically detected rotation amount. The paper feed control unit 77 decelerates the rotation of the LD roller 13 and the PF roller 16 at a predetermined paper feed amount, and finally sets the target speed to “0”. Thereby, the rotation of the LD roller 13 and the PF roller 16 is decelerated and stopped. The print medium P fed to the print area is transported by a predetermined paper feed amount and stopped. The print medium P moves by the paper feed amount in the print area.

  The sequence control unit 79 confirms that a predetermined time has passed, for example, by referring to the time of the timer 71 before the paper feed processing by the paper feed control unit 77 is finished, and further, in the print data 80, instructs the paper feed. Based on the presence of the ink ejection data next to the data, the print control unit 75 is instructed to start the control. Based on the fact that the ink ejection data and the paper feed instruction data are alternately arranged in the print data 80, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the print control unit 75 to start control and controls the paper feed control unit 77. Repeat the start instruction alternately. As a result, ink is ejected to the print medium P fed to the print area for each width of the recording head 24, and printing is executed.

  In the print data 80, there is discharge instruction data next to the last ink ejection data in the copy process to the first print medium P. The sequence control unit 79 confirms that a predetermined time has passed with reference to, for example, the time of the timer 71 before the print processing by the print control unit 75 is completed, and further discharges paper based on the paper discharge instruction data. The control unit 78 is instructed to start control.

  The paper discharge control unit 78 executes control for discharging the printed print medium P to the paper discharge tray 12 to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65. The paper discharge control unit 78 instructs the target speeds to the ASF drive unit 66 and the PF drive unit 65. The ASF motor 41 rotationally drives the LD roller 13 at a speed that follows the instructed target speed by the motor driver IC 53. The PF motor 43 causes the motor driver IC 53 to drive the PF roller 16 and the discharge roller 21 at a speed that follows the instructed target speed.

  Whether the paper discharge control unit 78 reaches a predetermined paper discharge conveyance amount based on the detected rotation amount periodically updated after the rotational driving of the LD roller 13, the PF roller 16, and the paper discharge roller 21 is started. Judge whether or not. The paper feed control unit 77 decelerates the LD roller 13, the PF roller 16, and the paper discharge roller 21 to stop rotating at a predetermined paper discharge conveyance amount, and instructs the target speed to be “0” at the end. Thereby, the rotation of the LD roller 13, the PF roller 16, and the paper discharge roller 21 is stopped. The print medium P fed to the print area is transported by a predetermined discharge transport amount and stopped.

  With the above series of controls, the copy process to the first print medium P is completed. The sequence control unit 79 starts a copy process to the second print medium P based on the print data 80 stored in the upper memory 72. In the printing on the second and subsequent print media P, the flow of the control start instruction by the sequence control unit 79 is the same as the flow of the first sheet.

  That is, when the sequence control unit 79 starts the copy process to the second and subsequent print media P, first, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the reading control unit 74 to start control, and based on the paper feed instruction data in the print data 80. The paper feed control unit 76 is instructed to start control, the print control unit 75 is instructed to start control based on the ink ejection data in the print data 80, and the paper feed control is performed based on the paper feed instruction data in the print data 80. The unit 77 is instructed to start control. Further, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the paper discharge control unit 78 to start control based on the paper discharge instruction data in the print data 80. The sequence control unit 79 repeatedly instructs the above-described control start instruction for each print medium P.

  The overall processing flow of the operation of copying the image of one read original placed on the platen glass 25 onto a plurality of print media P is as described above. Next, the updating process of the value in the accelerating flag register 81 and the driving start delay process corresponding to the value in the accelerating flag register 81 in the overall processing flow will be described in detail.

  7 shows that the control unit 74 in FIG. 3 includes a reading control unit 74, a print control unit 75, a paper feed control unit 76, a paper feed control unit 77, and a paper discharge control unit 78. It is a flowchart which shows the basic flow of the process performed based on this.

  When there is a control start instruction from the sequence control unit 79, each control unit of the reading control unit 74, the print control unit 75, the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, and the paper discharge control unit 78 will first The value of in-operation data stored in the acceleration flag register 81 is read from the memory 72 (step ST1). The initial value of the acceleration flag register 81 is “0”. The acceleration flag register 81 is initialized when the printer multifunction device 1 is turned on. Next, each control unit adds a predetermined current value preset in the control of each control unit to the value read in step ST1 (step ST2).

  For example, the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, and the paper discharge control unit 78 drive the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 to convey the print medium P. In this case, the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, and the paper discharge control unit 78 correspond to a predetermined current value “5” corresponding to the maximum peak current of the PF motor 43 and the maximum peak current of the ASF motor 41. A value obtained by adding the predetermined current value “5” is added to the read value of the acceleration flag register 81 as a predetermined current value in the current control.

  Further, at the timing T1 in FIG. 6, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is “0”. The paper discharge control unit 78 that is instructed to start control at the subsequent timing T <b> 2 has a predetermined current value “5” corresponding to the maximum peak current of the PF motor 43 and a predetermined current corresponding to the maximum peak current of the ASF motor 41. The value “5” is added to obtain “10”.

  After adding a predetermined current value in the control to the read value of the acceleration flag register 81, each control unit has a value of the calculation result equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit value corresponding to the power supply capability of the power supply device 54. It is determined whether or not there is (step ST3). In this embodiment, the upper limit value corresponding to the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 to the plurality of drive motors is “10”. The paper discharge control unit 78 of the previous example determines that the value “10” of the calculation result is equal to or less than the power supply predetermined upper limit value “10”.

  When determining that the value of the calculation result is equal to or less than the upper limit value corresponding to the power supply capability of the power supply device 54, each control unit sets the value of the acceleration flag register 81 stored in the upper memory 72 to the value of the calculation result. Update (step ST4).

  After updating the value of the in-acceleration flag register 81, each control unit starts the above-described drive motor drive control executed by each control unit (step ST5). In the case of the paper discharge control unit 78 of the previous example, drive control of the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 is started.

  When the drive control of the drive motor is started and the acceleration control is completed (step ST6), each control unit reads the value in the acceleration flag register 81 again, and the control value of each control unit is preset from the read value. The predetermined current value is subtracted and the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated to the calculation result (step ST7). As a result, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is, for example, the original value (in the above example, the predetermined current value “10” in the preset control added in step ST2 is subtracted, and before the addition is performed) The value returns to “0”).

  Moreover, each control part will complete | finish the process, if the predetermined drive control of a drive motor is completed (step ST8).

  Note that, in the determination of step ST3, if it is determined that the value of the calculation result obtained by adding the predetermined current value in the preset control is not less than or equal to the upper limit value corresponding to the power supply capability of the power supply device 54, that is, the calculation result When the value is larger than the upper limit value, each control unit determines whether or not the value in the acceleration flag register 81 has been updated (step ST9). Then, when the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated, each control unit returns to step ST1, and sets the predetermined current value in the preset control to the updated value in the acceleration flag register 81. Addition is performed (step ST2), and it is determined whether the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit value (step ST3). Each control unit repeats this process until the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit value.

  In the operation of reading the image of one read original placed on the platen glass 25 described above a plurality of times and copying each read image to a plurality of print media P, as shown in FIG. The unit 79 instructs the reading control unit 74 to start control in order to read an image to be printed on the second printing medium P during the discharge process of the first printing medium P.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the timing T4 when the control start to the reading control unit 74 is instructed during the acceleration period (period from T2 to T3) of the ASF motor 41 and the PF motor 43 by the paper discharge control unit 78. In some cases, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is “10”. The reading control unit 74 reads the value “10” of the acceleration flag register 81 before starting the driving of the SCN motor 45 in step ST5 of FIG. 7 (step ST1), and performs predetermined control in the preset control. The current value (in this case, “2”) is added (step ST2), and it is determined whether the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined maximum value “10” (step ST3).

  The calculation result at timing T4 in FIG. 6, that is, when the reading control unit 74 receives a drive control start instruction from the sequence control unit 79 is “12 (= 10 + 2)”. The reading control unit 74 determines No in step ST3. At this time, the process after step ST4 is not performed at this time. Thereafter, when the paper discharge control unit 78 updates the value of the acceleration flag register 81 to “0” at the timing T3 in FIG. 6, the reading control unit 74 updates the value of the acceleration flag register 81. Based on the above, Yes is determined in step ST9. The reading control unit 74 again reads the value “0” in the acceleration flag register 81 (step ST1), and adds a predetermined current value (“2” in this case) in the preset control (step ST2). Then, it is determined whether the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined maximum value “10” (step ST3).

  The calculation result of the reading control unit 74 at timing T5 in FIG. 6 after the paper discharge control unit 78 updates the value of the accelerating flag register 81 to “0” at timing T3 is “2 (= 0 + 2)”. . The reading control unit 74 determines Yes in step ST3 based on the calculation result being equal to or less than the predetermined upper limit “10”. The reading control unit 74 updates the value in the acceleration flag register 81 with the calculation result (step ST4), and then starts driving the SCN motor 45 (step ST5).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the control units of the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 of the multifunction printer 1. When the stopped drive motor is newly driven, the sum of the maximum peak powers of all the drive motors that are in the accelerating operation when the stopped drive motor is newly driven is the power supply 54 When it is confirmed that the power capacity that can be supplied is not exceeded, the drive of the stopped drive motor is started.

  Therefore, even if the allocation of the power capacity that can be supplied to the plurality of drive motors is smaller than the sum of all the maximum peak powers of the plurality of drive motors as the power supply device 54 of the printer multifunction device 1, the printer multifunction device 1 can operate a plurality of drive motors so that power shortage does not occur. In the printer multifunction device 1, it is possible to effectively reduce the power capacity of the power supply device 54 by suitably utilizing the fact that all the drive motors need not be driven simultaneously.

  The multi-function printer 1 does not cause power shortage in the control of reading the image of the read document a plurality of times by the image sensor carriage 26 and continuously printing the same image read a plurality of times on the plurality of print media. Can be performed as follows.

  In this embodiment, the high-order memory 72 stores an accelerating flag register 81. The in-acceleration flag register 81 is updated with a current value for each drive motor that is associated in advance based on the maximum peak power of the drive motor during the acceleration operation. The value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated to a size corresponding to the number of drive motors during acceleration operation and the maximum peak power for each drive motor. The control units of the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 are driven motors that are newly driven by the accelerating flag register 81. Is added, and based on the calculation result, it is determined whether or not the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply 54 is exceeded.

  Therefore, each control unit of the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 can easily set the drive motor being stopped by a predetermined calculation process. It can be determined whether the sum of the maximum peak powers of all the drive motors that are in the accelerating operation when newly driven exceeds the power capacity that the power supply device 54 can supply. The control units of the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 are temporarily determined according to the combination of drive motors during acceleration operation, for example. Can be determined immediately without referring to the table storing the.

  Further, by adding a predetermined current value corresponding to each maximum peak power for each drive motor in this way, a paper feed control unit 76, a paper feed control unit 77, a paper discharge control unit 78, a print control unit 75, In addition, each control unit of the read control unit 74 has a maximum peak power of all the drive motors that are in an accelerating operation by a simple addition process even though the maximum peak powers of the plurality of drive motors are different from each other. Can be calculated.

  Control means for driving a plurality of drive motors of the multifunction printer 1 includes a paper feed control unit 76, a paper feed control unit 77, a paper discharge control unit 78, a print control unit 75, a reading control unit 74, and a sequence control unit. 79. Therefore, the basic structure of the control means of the printer multifunction device 1 can be made substantially the same as the control means of the conventional printer apparatus. As a result, the control means used in the conventional printer device or the like can be used for the printer multifunction device 1 in which the power supply device 54 is not downsized or enlarged. In addition, a sequence control unit 79 used in a conventional printer device or the like, an error processing unit or an exception processing unit not shown, and the like can be used.

  In particular, the control units such as the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 are in-acceleration flags before starting to drive the respective drive motors. The value of the register 81 is updated by adding a predetermined value corresponding to the maximum peak power of each driving motor to be driven, and when the acceleration of each driving motor is completed, the value in the accelerating flag register 81 is Subtract a predetermined value.

  Therefore, when the acceleration period of each drive motor by a certain control unit ends, the other control unit can start driving the delayed drive motor. The period during which the other control unit delays the driving of the drive motor can be suppressed to a period that is the minimum necessary to prevent power shortage. As a result, each control unit can minimize a decrease in printing speed or the like due to a period during which this driving is delayed. The multi-function printer 1 does not cause power shortage in the control of reading the image of the read document a plurality of times by the image sensor carriage 26 and continuously printing the same image read a plurality of times on the plurality of print media. It can be executed in a minimum amount of time.

  In addition, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the next control unit to start control before the time point when the control by the control unit that has previously instructed control start in a predetermined order ends. When control operations by a plurality of control units are made continuous in this way, the drive motor driven by the previous control unit and the drive motor driven by the next control unit overlap or are continuous. It will be driven. As a result, control operations by the control units of the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 are continuous. When the control by the previous control unit is completed and it is determined that the operation is possible based on the value of the acceleration flag register 81, the next control unit can immediately start the control.

  Then, under the control start instruction from the sequence control unit 79, each control unit delays the drive start timing of the drive motor as necessary so that power shortage does not occur. Therefore, in this printer multifunction device 1, the control by the plurality of control units instructed by the sequence control unit 79 is continuous, so that the processing capability of the printer multifunction device 1 is maximized and the power shortage occurs. Can not be. In the printer multifunction device 1, it is possible to balance the improvement in processing capability with the effect of reducing the power capacity of the power supply device 54. In the printer multifunction device 1, it is possible to obtain a high processing capability by making the best use of the reduced power capacity of the power supply device 54.

  Further, the sequence control unit 79 does not need to consider power shortage when instructing each control unit to perform control. The sequence control unit 79 does not need to execute a control instruction in consideration of power shortage.

  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.

  In the above-described embodiment, the paper feed control unit 76, the paper feed control unit 77, the paper discharge control unit 78, the print control unit 75, and the reading control unit 74 are set in advance in the acceleration flag register 81. A predetermined current value in the control is added or subtracted. Each control unit adds or subtracts a predetermined current value, for example, “5” or “2”, weighted according to the maximum peak power of each drive motor. In addition, for example, each control unit may add or subtract the number of drive motors to be controlled to the acceleration flag register 81. In the case of this modification, when each control unit confirms that the number of operating flags indicating that the acceleration operation is in progress does not exceed a predetermined upper limit number (for example, 4) when control is started, for example, The driving of the drive motor may be started.

  In the above embodiment, the upper memory 72 stores one acceleration flag register 81. In addition, the upper memory 72 may store an operating flag for each drive motor. In the case of this modification, each control unit may read the values of all operating flags stored in the upper memory 72. For example, when each control unit confirms that the number of in-operation flags indicating that the acceleration operation is in progress does not exceed a predetermined upper limit number (for example, four) when control is started, the drive motor to be controlled May be started.

  In the above embodiment, each control unit increases the value of the acceleration flag register 81 by a predetermined current value before starting the acceleration of the drive motor. The value in the acceleration flag register 81 is decreased. In this case, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated to the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors during the acceleration operation. In addition to this, for example, each control unit increases the value in the acceleration flag register 81 by a predetermined current value before starting the acceleration of the drive motor. The value in the acceleration flag register 81 may be decreased. In the case of this modification, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated to the sum of peak powers of all driving motors in operation. However, in order to minimize the drive start delay of the other drive motors in a state where the value of the acceleration flag register 81 has reached a predetermined upper limit value, the value of the acceleration flag register 81 is set to the value during acceleration operation. It is desirable to update the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors.

  In the above embodiment, the sequence control unit 79 instructs the next control unit to start driving before the end of the drive control by the control unit that has previously instructed to start driving. In addition to this, for example, the sequence control unit 79 confirms the stop after the drive control by the control unit that previously instructed the drive start, and then instructs the next control unit to start the drive. Also good.

  Even in the case of this modified example, if a plurality of drive motors are driven and controlled simultaneously, there is a possibility that the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 to the plurality of drive motors may be exceeded. For example, when the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 to the plurality of drive motors is the minimum that can withstand simultaneous driving of the ASF motor 41 and the PF motor 43, unlike the one in this embodiment, When the paper feed control unit 76 drives the ASF sub motor 42 and drives the LD driven roller 14 away from the LD roller 13 while driving the ASF motor 41 and the PF motor 43, the plurality of drive motors. In some cases, the instantaneous total power consumption due to the power supply device 54 exceeds the power supply capability. Even in the case of such a modification, each control unit can execute a predetermined control sequence so as not to cause power shortage by managing the drive states of the plurality of drive motors by the acceleration flag register 81 or the like. it can.

  In the above embodiment, the power supply device 54 adds the instantaneous power of the PF motor 43 at the constant peak current value to the sum of the instantaneous power in the constant speed period of each drive motor in the waveform having the maximum peak current. The value obtained by adding the difference between the instantaneous power in the period and the difference between the instantaneous power at the maximum peak current value of the ASF motor 41 and the instantaneous power in the constant speed period is the power supply capability of the plurality of drive motors. It has been decided to be. That is, the power supply device 54 has a power supply capability capable of accelerating and controlling the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 in a state where all the drive motors other than the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 are controlled at a constant speed. Yes.

  In addition, for example, the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 to the plurality of drive motors may be smaller than a value that is the sum of the maximum peak powers of all the drive motors, for example. Thereby, compared with the power supply device 54 which can supply the value which becomes the sum total of the maximum peak electric power of all the drive motors, the supply capability of the power supply device 54 can be reduced, and the power supply device 54 can be downsized.

  Conversely, the power supply capability of the power supply device 54 to the plurality of drive motors may be at least the maximum peak power that is the maximum among all the drive motors. As a result, the plurality of drive motors provided in the printer multifunction device 1 can be sequentially driven without causing power shortage. However, as in the case of the PF motor 43 and the ASF motor 41 of the multifunction printer 1 of this embodiment, there are a plurality of drive motors that are simultaneously driven for control, and the maximum peak power of the plurality of drive motors is When the sum is larger than the individual maximum peak power, it is necessary to make it equal to or greater than the sum of the maximum peak powers of the plurality of drive motors.

  In the above embodiment, the value in the acceleration flag register 81 is updated during a period in which each control unit accelerates each drive motor. As shown in FIG. 4, a regenerative current may be generated when the speed of a drive motor such as a DC motor is reduced. The regenerative current can be consumed by other drive motors. Therefore, each control unit subtracts the value in the acceleration flag register 81 by a predetermined value, for example, before starting control of the deceleration period, and adds the predetermined value to the value in the acceleration flag register 81 when the deceleration period ends. You may make it do.

  The above embodiment is an example of the printer multifunction device 1 having a plurality of drive motors. In addition, examples of the motor control device having a plurality of drive motors include a printing device such as an ink jet printer and a laser printer, a scanner with an ADF function, and a facsimile device. These motor control devices also use a plurality of drive motors. Therefore, by applying the present invention, the power supply device of these devices can be downsized.

  The present invention can be suitably used in a multifunction printer having a printer unit using an inkjet printer system or the like.

1 is an external view of a multifunction printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of main parts of hardware of the multifunction printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the printer multifunction peripheral of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the drive current waveform of a DC motor. It is a figure which shows an example of the determination method of the power capacity of the power supply device in FIG. FIG. 2 is a timing chart for continuous copying of the multifunction printer of FIG. 1. FIG. It is a control flowchart of each control part.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer multifunction device (motor control apparatus), 19 Ink carriage, 26 Image sensor carriage, 41 ASF motor (one drive motor), 42 ASF sub motor (one drive motor), 43 PF motor (one drive motor), 44 CR motor (one drive motor), 45 SCNF motor (one drive motor), 54 power supply, 72 upper memory (storage means), 74 reading control part (part of control means), 75 print control part (control means) ), 76 paper feed control part (part of control means), 77 paper feed control part (part of control means), 78 paper discharge control part (part of control means), 79 sequence control part (control) Part of the means), P print media

Claims (10)

A plurality of drive motors;
A power supply device that supplies power to at least the plurality of drive motors, wherein the power capacity that can be supplied to the plurality of drive motors is smaller than the sum of all peak powers of the plurality of drive motors;
Control means for driving the plurality of drive motors, and when a stopped drive motor is newly driven, all the drive motors that are in an accelerating operation when the stopped drive motor is newly driven If it is confirmed that the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors or the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors in operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the drive of the stopped drive motor is started. Control means to
A motor control device comprising:   The printing apparatus having the motor control device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of motors are driven for printing control. A plurality of drive motors including at least a drive motor for transporting a print medium, a drive motor for driving an ink carriage, and a drive motor for driving an image sensor carriage;
A power supply device that supplies power to at least the plurality of drive motors, wherein the power capacity that can be supplied to the plurality of drive motors is smaller than the sum of all peak powers of the plurality of drive motors;
Control means for driving the plurality of drive motors, and when a stopped drive motor is newly driven, all the drive motors that are in an accelerating operation when the stopped drive motor is newly driven If it is confirmed that the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors or the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors in operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the drive of the stopped drive motor is started. Control means to
A printer multi-function machine comprising:   The control means drives the plurality of drive motors in the control of reading the image of the read document a plurality of times by the image sensor carriage and printing the same image read a plurality of times on the plurality of print media. 4. The multifunction printer according to claim 3, wherein: Storage means for storing in-operation data updated by the control means to a value corresponding to the drive state of the plurality of drive motors;
The control means reads the value of the operating data when newly driving the stopped drive motor, and the read value and a predetermined value associated with the drive motor to be newly driven in advance. When a predetermined calculation is performed, and the calculation result is equal to or less than a predetermined maximum value corresponding to the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the stopped driving motor is newly driven. Determining that the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors in acceleration operation or the sum of the peak powers of all drive motors in operation does not exceed the suppliable power capacity of the power supply device;
The printer multifunction device according to claim 3. The predetermined value associated in advance with each of the drive motors is a value according to the peak power of each of the drive motors,
The control means updates the operating data based on the peak power associated with an accelerating operation or an operating one of the plurality of drive motors,
6. The multifunction printer according to claim 5, wherein: The control means is at least
A paper feed controller that drives the drive motor to transport the print medium and feeds the print medium to a print area;
A paper feed controller that drives the drive motor that transports the print medium to transport the print medium fed to the print area by a predetermined amount;
A paper discharge control section for driving the drive motor for transporting the print medium and discharging the print medium from the print area;
A print control unit that drives the drive motor that drives the ink carriage to execute printing on the print medium in the print region;
A read control unit that drives the drive motor that drives the image sensor carriage to read a predetermined image;
The paper feed control unit, the paper feed control unit, the paper discharge control unit, the print control unit, and the reading control unit are all accelerating when the drive motor is newly driven. After confirming that the sum of the peak powers of the drive motors or the sum of the peak powers of all the drive motors in operation does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied by the power supply device, the drive of each of the drive motors is confirmed. To start the
The printer multifunction device according to claim 3. Storage means for storing in-operation data updated by the control means to a value corresponding to the drive state of the plurality of drive motors;
The paper feed control unit, the paper feed control unit, the paper discharge control unit, the print control unit, and the reading control unit set the value of the data during operation before starting the driving of the respective drive motors. Update by adding a predetermined value according to the peak power of the drive motor that each drives, and
When the acceleration of each of the drive motors is finished, the value of the operating data stored in the storage means is subtracted by the predetermined value;
The printer multifunction device according to claim 7. The control means includes a sequence control unit that instructs the start of control in a predetermined order to the paper feed control unit, the paper feed control unit, the paper discharge control unit, the print control unit, and the reading control unit. Have
The sequence control unit is configured to instruct the next control unit to start control before the time point when the control by the control unit instructed previously in the predetermined order ends;
The printer multifunction device according to claim 8. A motor control method for controlling a plurality of drive motors,
When driving a stopped drive motor anew, when the stopped drive motor is newly driven, the sum of peak powers of all drive motors that are in acceleration operation or all drive motors that are in operation Determining whether or not the sum of the peak powers exceeds the suppliable power capacity of the power supply device capable of supplying power smaller than the sum of the peak powers of the plurality of drive motors;
When the determination step confirms that the sum of the peak powers does not exceed the power capacity that can be supplied, starting the driving of the stopped drive motor;
A motor control method characterized by comprising:

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