JP2013215914A - Recording device, drive control method of recording device, and drive control program of recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress a consumption electric current while improving throughput of an ink-jet printer.SOLUTION: An ink-jet printer 11 equipped with a CR (carriage) motor 15 for reciprocating in one direction a carriage 14 with a recording head 17 for discharging ink drops to a paper sheet 19 and a PF (paper feeding) motor 22 for carrying a paper sheet 19 in a direction orthogonal to the one direction. The ink-jet printer includes an EEPROM64 which respectively memorizes consumption electric current values when the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 respectively consume for driving and the maximum electric current value allowed for consumption, electric current sensors 81 and 82 which measure the consumed electric current values, and a control section 7 which instructs drive of the two motors. The control section 7 acquires the consumption electric current value of either of the two motors, the drive of the either one being instructed from the EEPROM64. When a total electric current value of the consumption electric current value and the electric current value exceeds the maximum electric current value, driving is instructed after the total electric current value falls down to the maximum electric current value or below.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a drive control method for the recording apparatus, and a drive control program for the recording apparatus.

An ink jet printer is a printing apparatus that prints a desired image on a printing paper by selectively ejecting ink droplets onto the printing paper as shown in Patent Document 1 below.
In general, an ink jet printer transports a carriage motor for reciprocating a carriage mounted with a recording head in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) and a printing paper in a direction (sub-scanning direction) perpendicular to the main scanning direction. It is equipped with a paper feed motor.
When printing, the recording head ejects ink droplets toward the printing paper while the carriage moves in the main scanning direction. While the recording head ejects ink droplets onto the printing paper, The printing paper is stopped without being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction. On the other hand, while the printing paper is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction to change the printing position on the printing paper, the recording head does not eject ink droplets toward the printing paper while the carriage moves in the main scanning direction.

Thus, when the movement of the carriage for ejecting ink droplets in the main scanning direction and the conveyance of the printing paper in the sub-scanning direction are executed exclusively, the carriage motor and the paper feed motor are Signals instructing rotation are not sent simultaneously.
By the way, in recent years, since ink jet printers are frequently used in offices and the like, they are often printed continuously in large quantities, and there is a demand for improvement in throughput by speeding up the printing process.
Therefore, in order to improve the throughput of the printing process, the carriage starts to move from the predetermined standby position to the print start position before the next print paper to be printed is extracted from the paper stock and conveyed to the print start position. There are things to do. In this case, signals for instructing rotation to the carriage motor and the paper feed motor are sent in synchronization, and both the carriage motor and the paper feed motor may be in an accelerated state.

JP 2005-329556 A

However, when the motor is in an accelerated state, the current consumption increases remarkably. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the current capacity of the ink jet printer in order to cope with the increased current consumption. Therefore, it has been difficult to realize, and it has been difficult to efficiently improve the throughput of printing processing while suppressing current consumption.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to suppress current consumption while improving the throughput of an ink jet printer.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
The recording apparatus according to this application example transports the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the first motor and a first motor that reciprocates a carriage having a recording head for discharging liquid onto the recording medium in one direction. And a storage unit that stores a current consumption value consumed by each of the first motor and the second motor during driving and a maximum current value allowed to be consumed. A measuring unit that measures a current value that is consumed, and a control unit that instructs driving of the first motor and the second motor, wherein the control unit is configured to instruct driving. The current consumption value of any one of the motor 1 and the second motor is acquired from the storage unit, and the total current value obtained by adding the current consumption value and the current value measured by the measurement unit is the maximum current value. If it exceeds the value, wherein the sum current value instructs the driving waiting to become less than the maximum current value.

  According to such a configuration, when driving either the first motor or the second motor, the control unit obtains the current consumption value consumed by the motor to be driven, and the current value currently consumed. When the total current value obtained by adding the acquired current consumption value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is instructed after the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value. Therefore, the current consumption of the printing apparatus is prevented from exceeding the maximum current value, and the drive is started after waiting for the current value to fall below the maximum current value. it can.

[Application Example 2]
In the recording apparatus according to the application example, the consumption current value includes information on a current value that changes over time after each of the first motor and the second motor starts driving, and the control unit Determines a standby time to wait based on the current value information, and instructs driving after the determined time has elapsed.

  According to such a configuration, the standby time to be waited for is determined based on the information on the current value that changes with the passage of time, and therefore it is not necessary to always calculate the total current value, so that the processing becomes easy.

[Application Example 3]
In the recording apparatus according to the application example, the recording apparatus includes a document reading unit that optically scans and reads a document, and the measurement unit is consumed by each of the first motor and the second motor. In addition to the current value, the current value required for scanning of the reading unit is measured.

  According to such a configuration, current consumption can be efficiently suppressed even for a recording apparatus including an original reading unit that optically scans and reads an original.

[Application Example 4]
The drive control method of the recording apparatus according to this application example includes: a first motor that reciprocates a carriage having a recording head that discharges liquid on a recording medium in one direction; and a direction orthogonal to the one direction. A method for controlling the driving of a recording apparatus including a second motor for conveying a recording medium, the step of measuring a consumed current value, and the first motor and the second motor to be instructed to drive A step of obtaining any one of the current consumption value, a step of determining whether or not a total current value obtained by adding the current consumption value and the measured current value exceeds a maximum current value, and the total current When the value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is waited until the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value, and the driving is instructed after the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value. Process, Characterized in that it comprises.

  According to such a method, when driving either the first motor or the second motor, the control unit obtains the current consumption value consumed by the motor to be driven, and the current value currently consumed. When the total current value obtained by adding the acquired current consumption value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is instructed after the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value. Therefore, the current consumption of the printing apparatus is prevented from exceeding the maximum current value, and the drive is started after waiting for the current value to fall below the maximum current value. it can.

[Application Example 5]
A drive control program for a recording apparatus according to this application example includes: a first motor that reciprocates a carriage on which a recording head that discharges liquid on a recording medium is reciprocated in one direction; and a direction orthogonal to the one direction. A drive control program for a recording apparatus having a second motor for conveying a recording medium, the function of measuring a current value consumed, the first motor and the second motor to be instructed to drive A function of acquiring any one of the current consumption value, a function for determining whether or not a total current value obtained by adding the current consumption value and the measured current value exceeds a maximum current value, and the total current When the value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is waited until the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value, and the driving is instructed after the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value. Characterized in that to execute the ability to computer.

  According to such a function, when driving either the first motor or the second motor, the control unit obtains the current consumption value consumed by the motor to be driven, and the current value currently consumed. When the total current value obtained by adding the acquired current consumption value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is instructed after the total current value becomes equal to or less than the maximum current value. Therefore, the current consumption of the printing apparatus is prevented from exceeding the maximum current value, and the drive is started after waiting for the current value to fall below the maximum current value. it can.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram of the control system which controls operation | movement of an inkjet printer. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of a drive control program. The figure which shows an example of the measurement result of the current sensor by a drive control program.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer 11 which is one of recording apparatuses. The ink jet printer 11 includes a main body case 12 having a rectangular shape in plan view. In the main body case 12, a carriage 14 guided by a guide shaft 13 and capable of reciprocating in the main scanning direction X is provided. The carriage 14 is fixed to a part of an endless timing belt 16 that is rotationally driven by driving a carriage motor (hereinafter referred to as a CR motor 15) as a first motor. It reciprocates in the main scanning direction X by forward / reverse driving.

  An ink jet recording head 17 is provided below the carriage 14, and an ink cartridge 18 for supplying ink to the recording head 17 is detachably loaded above the carriage 14. The recording head 17 incorporates a discharge driving element for each of the plurality of nozzles opened on the lower surface thereof, and each discharge driving element is driven to eject (discharge) ink droplets from the nozzles toward a sheet 19 as a recording medium. ) The ink ejection driving method is a piezoelectric method in which ink droplets are ejected using a piezoelectric element (piezo element) as an ejection driving element, an electrostatic method in which ink droplets are ejected using an electrostatic driving element, and further heated by a heater. Then, a thermal method in which bubbles are generated in the ink in the nozzles to eject ink droplets may be used.

  A platen 20 that defines an interval (gap) between the recording head 17 and the paper 19 is disposed below the carriage 14. A maintenance device 21 that cleans the recording head 17 and the like is disposed immediately below a home position that is a standby position when the carriage 14 does not perform printing.

A paper feed motor (hereinafter referred to as PF motor 22) as a second motor is disposed at the lower back of the main body case 12. The sheet 19 is conveyed in the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction Y downstream side) by a plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers driven by the PF motor 22. Then, the printing operation (recording operation) in which the carriage 14 moves once in the main scanning direction X while ejecting ink droplets from the recording head 17, and the paper 19 is conveyed in the sub scanning direction Y by a predetermined pitch to the next printing position. Printing is performed on the sheet 19 by alternately performing the transport operation (paper feeding operation).
A linear encoder 24 is provided along the guide shaft 13 in the main body case 12. The linear encoder 24 outputs a number of pulses proportional to the moving distance of the carriage 14, and the inkjet printer 11 detects the output pulse and determines the carriage based on the moving position, moving speed, and moving direction of the carriage 14. 14 speed control and position control are performed.

In this embodiment, the carriage 14, the guide shaft 13, the timing belt 16, the CR motor 15, and the like are configured to move the recording head 17 in the main scanning direction X, and the conveyance roller and the PF motor 22 are configured. Thus, a mechanism for moving the sheet 19 in the sub-scanning direction Y constitutes a moving means for moving the recording head and the recording medium relative to each other. The CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 function as a power source for the moving means.
The CR motor 15 is a drive source for the carriage 14, and the carriage 14 (recording head 17) moves in the main scanning direction X as the CR motor 15 rotates. The position of the carriage 14 in the main scanning direction X can be detected by the linear encoder 24, so that the control unit 7 (FIG. 2) can detect the position, moving direction, moving speed, and the like of the carriage 14. ing.

The PF motor 22 is a common drive source for each roller (not shown) provided for transporting the paper, and the rotation amount (number of rotation steps) and rotation speed thereof are determined by a rotary encoder 73 (FIG. 2). ). Thereby, the control unit 7 can detect the rotation amount and the rotation speed of each roller provided in the sheet conveyance path.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system that controls the operation of the ink jet printer 11. The inkjet printer 11 includes a control unit 7, and the control unit 7 controls the rotation of the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22, the ink ejection by the recording head 17, and the like.

A control ASIC 61, RAM 62, ROM 63, EEPROM 64, and CPU 65 are connected to the control unit 7. The CPU 65 receives signals from sensors such as the linear encoder 24, the rotary encoder 73, the paper detection sensor 74, and the PW sensor 75 and the encoder via the control ASIC 61.
In addition, a signal is input from an operation panel 78 including an operation unit such as a power button for turning on / off the power of the inkjet printer 11 and various setting / execution buttons and a display unit for displaying various information.

  The CPU 65 performs arithmetic processing for executing various controls of the ink jet printer 11 and other necessary arithmetic processing based on output signals from the sensors and encoders of the ink jet printer 11. The ROM 63 stores a recording control program (firmware) and the like necessary for controlling the ink jet printer 11 by the CPU 65, and various data and the like that are necessary for the processing of the recording control program and are rewritten are stored in the EEPROM 64. These ROM 63 and EEPROM 64 function as a storage unit. The RAM 62 is used as a temporary storage area for the work area and recording data of the CPU 65.

The control unit 7 has control circuits (CR motor driver 68, PF motor driver 69, head driver 67) for performing rotation control of the CR motor 15 and PF motor 22 which are DC motors and driving control of the recording head 17. ing. The control unit 7 includes a current sensor 81 for measuring the current value flowing into the CR motor 15 and a current sensor 82 for measuring the current value flowing into the PF motor 22. The current sensor 81 and the current sensor 82 function as a measurement unit, and information on current values output from these sensors is input to the CPU 65 via the control ASIC 61. In the present embodiment, the current sensor 81 and the current sensor 82 are employed as means for acquiring the current value. However, the present invention is not limited to the sensor, and for example, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is used as the current detection means. Hardware or software for converting the current value from the current duty may be used.
Further, the control ASIC 61 performs various calculations for controlling the rotation of the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 based on the control command sent from the CPU 65, the output signal of the rotary encoder 73, and the output signal of the linear encoder 24. The motor control signal based on the calculation result is sent to the CR motor driver 68 and the PF motor driver 69.
The control ASIC 61 calculates and generates a control signal for the recording head 17 based on the recording data sent from the CPU 65 and sends it to the head driver 67 to control the driving of the recording head 42.

In the present embodiment, in order to improve the throughput of the inkjet printer 11, the carriage 14 starts to move from the standby position to the print start position before new paper 19 is extracted from the paper stock and paper feeding is completed.
In such a case, both the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 may transit to the acceleration state, and the current value consumed in the acceleration state may increase remarkably compared to the constant speed state. . Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the current values of the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 measured by the current sensors 82 and 82, the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 are delayed from transitioning to the acceleration state. A drive control program is stored in the ROM 63 in advance, and is developed and executed in the RAM 62 when the inkjet printer 11 is activated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the drive control program (drive control method). This drive control program is stored in the ROM 63 or the like, and is executed when the CR motor 15 or the PF motor 22 starts driving. When the process is started, the CPU 65 acquires the current value of the already driven motor measured by the current sensors 82 and 82 (step S100).
Next, the CPU 65 acquires a current value (consumption current value) consumed when the motor to be driven is driven (step S102). This current value may be a current value that consumes the most amount, that is, a current value at the time of starting driving and accelerating. Further, it may include information on a current value that changes with the passage of time after the start of driving. Further, the current sensor 82, 82 may measure the current value stored in the EEPROM 64 in the past predetermined period with respect to the drive start target motor.
Next, the CPU 65 adds the current value of the motor that is already being driven and the current value of the motor that is the drive start target, and drives the drive start target motor to predict the expected current value (summed current value). Is calculated (step S104).

Subsequently, the CPU 65 determines whether or not the predicted current value exceeds a predetermined allowable current value (maximum current value) (step S106).
If it is determined that the expected current value exceeds the allowable current value (Yes in step S106), the process proceeds to step S108. On the other hand, if it is determined that the expected current value does not exceed the allowable current value (No in step S106), the process proceeds to step S114.
In step S108, the CPU 65 obtains a delay time (standby time) for delaying the start of driving of the motor to be driven. This delay time may be a fixed value as a design value, or the delay time required for the predicted current value to be less than or equal to the allowable current value may be determined based on the current value information stored in the EEPROM 64. good. Further, the delay time may be determined based on temporal fluctuations of the current values measured by the current sensors 81 and 82 in the past predetermined period.

Next, the CPU 65 sets the acquired delay time as a timer (step S110). Then, it is determined whether or not the set time has passed (step S112). If the set time has not passed (No in step S112), step S112 is repeated until the set time has passed. If the set time has elapsed (Yes in step S112), the process proceeds to step S114.
In step S114, the CPU 65 instructs the motor to be driven to rotate to end the series of processing.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the measurement results of the current sensors 81 and 82 according to the drive control program described above. In this case, the PF motor 22 starts driving about 0.12 seconds after the start of measurement, and the current value increases by acceleration for about 40 milliseconds from the start of driving, and consumes 0.8 A at maximum. On the other hand, the CR motor 15 tries to drive approximately 0.12 seconds after starting the measurement, that is, almost simultaneously with the PF motor 22, but the drive start is delayed by 46 milliseconds according to the instruction of the drive control program. The CR motor 15 increases in current value due to acceleration for about 60 milliseconds from the start of driving, and consumes a maximum of 0.65 A.
Here, when the two motors start driving at the same time, the maximum current value is 1.45A, but the peak of the maximum current value of the two motors is shifted in time by the drive control program, so the maximum current value Is about 0.9A.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22 are driven synchronously in order to improve the printing throughput, it is possible to avoid that the power consumption of the two motors exceeds the allowable current value. The maximum current value can be suppressed. Therefore, since the setting margin of the current value can be suppressed in the design stage, a compact power supply circuit can be realized, and the ink jet printer 11 can be reduced in size and weight while improving the print throughput.
(2) The paper feed mechanism of the ink jet printer 11 for measuring the current value with the current sensor 81 for measuring the current value flowing into the CR motor 15 and the current sensor 82 for measuring the current value flowing into the PF motor 22. Even in the case where the inertia characteristic changes over time or in the mechanism part for the carriage 14 to reciprocate, the current value corresponding to the state is measured to calculate the maximum current value. it can. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to strictly assume the maximum current value, it is possible to reduce costs and labor required for the power supply circuit.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment shown in figure, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, The modification as described below can also be assumed.
(1) The printing apparatus employed in the present embodiment is assumed to be a single function machine having only a printing function. However, a multifunction machine having a scanner function (original reading unit) in addition to the printing function can also be assumed. In this case, in addition to the CR motor 15 and the PF motor 22, an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a scanner scanning motor may be used for current measurement. Furthermore, the target of current measurement is not limited to a motor, and a device or the like that may exceed the allowable current value by being driven simultaneously may be added as a target of current measurement.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Control part, 11 ... Inkjet printer, 12 ... Main body case, 13 ... Guide shaft, 14 ... Carriage, 15 ... CR motor, 16 ... Timing belt, 17 ... Recording head, 18 ... Ink cartridge, 19 ... Paper, 20 ... Platen, 21 ... maintenance device, 22 ... PF motor, 24 ... linear encoder, 42 ... recording head, 61 ... control ASIC, 62 ... RAM, 63 ... ROM, 64 ... EEPROM, 65 ... CPU, 67 ... head driver, 68 ... CR motor driver, 69 ... PF motor driver, 73 ... rotary encoder, 74 ... paper detection sensor, 75 ... PW sensor, 78 ... operation panel, 81 ... current sensor, 82 ... current sensor.

Claims (5)

A recording apparatus including a first motor that reciprocates a carriage mounted with a recording head that discharges liquid onto the recording medium in one direction, and a second motor that conveys the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the one direction. A device,
A storage unit that stores a current consumption value consumed by each of the first motor and the second motor during driving, and a maximum current value allowed to be consumed;
A measurement unit that measures the current value consumed,
A control unit for instructing driving of the first motor and the second motor,
The control unit acquires the current consumption value of either the first motor or the second motor to be instructed to drive from the storage unit, and the current consumption value and the current measured by the measurement unit When the total current value obtained by adding together the values exceeds the maximum current value, the recording apparatus is configured to instruct the driving after waiting for the total current value to be equal to or less than the maximum current value. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The current consumption value includes information on a current value that changes with time after each of the first motor and the second motor starts driving,
The controller determines a standby time to be standby based on the information on the current value, and instructs driving after the determined standby time has elapsed. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording apparatus includes an original reading unit that optically scans and reads an original,
The recording apparatus, wherein the measuring unit measures a current value required for scanning of the reading unit in addition to a current value consumed by each of the first motor and the second motor. A recording apparatus including a first motor that reciprocates a carriage mounted with a recording head that discharges liquid onto the recording medium in one direction, and a second motor that conveys the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the one direction. A device drive control method comprising:
A process of measuring the current consumption,
Obtaining the current consumption value of either the first motor or the second motor to be instructed to drive;
A step of determining whether or not a combined current value obtained by adding the current consumption value and the measured current value exceeds a maximum current value;
When the combined current value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is waited until the combined current value is equal to or less than the maximum current value, and the driving is performed after the combined current value is equal to or less than the maximum current value. And a step of instructing the recording apparatus. A recording apparatus including a first motor that reciprocates a carriage mounted with a recording head that discharges liquid onto the recording medium in one direction, and a second motor that conveys the recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the one direction. A drive control program for the device,
A function to measure the current consumption,
A function of acquiring the current consumption value of any of the first motor and the second motor to be instructed to drive;
A function of determining whether or not the combined current value obtained by adding the current consumption value and the measured current value exceeds a maximum current value;
When the combined current value exceeds the maximum current value, the driving is waited until the combined current value is equal to or less than the maximum current value, and the driving is performed after the combined current value is equal to or less than the maximum current value. A drive control program for a recording apparatus, which causes a computer to execute an instruction function.

Images