JP2017055532A - Motor control device, controlling method of the same, program executed on the motor control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control to switch over operation modes of a motor in consideration of the magnitude of a load applied to the motor.SOLUTION: The motor control device has identification means for identifying information corresponding to a temperature of a motor on the basis of information corresponding to the magnitude of a load applied to the motor acquired by a first acquiring means and information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor acquired within the predetermined time by the second acquiring means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a motor control device, a control method for the motor control device, and a program executed in the motor control device.

  If the motor is continuously operated (conveying operation or recording operation), the temperature rises, the output torque decreases, and the control accuracy may eventually decrease. Therefore, conventionally, there is known an apparatus that executes control for suppressing the temperature of the motor from becoming too high. The apparatus described in Patent Document 1 estimates the temperature of the motor, and changes the operation mode of the motor between the normal mode and the temperature increase suppression mode based on the estimated motor temperature.

JP2013-155009A

  However, in patent document 1, in the control which switches the operation mode of a motor, the magnitude | size of the load concerning a motor is not considered.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a motor control device that executes control for switching the motor operation mode in consideration of the load on the motor, a control method for the motor control device, and a program executed in the motor control device. With the goal.

In order to solve the above problems, the motor control device of the present invention
A motor control device for controlling a motor,
First acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to the load applied to the motor;
Second acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time;
Based on the information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquisition means and the information corresponding to the driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquisition means. A specific means for identifying information corresponding to the temperature;
Based on the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified by the specifying means, the first operation is performed without executing the temperature rise suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not increase. It further has switching means for switching between a mode and a second mode that operates by executing the temperature rise suppression control.

The motor control device of the present invention is
A motor control device for controlling a motor,
First acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to the load applied to the motor;
Determining means for determining a threshold according to information corresponding to a load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquiring means;
Identifying means for identifying information corresponding to a temperature of the motor based on information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor for a predetermined time;
Temperature increase suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not rise based on the threshold value determined by the determining means and information corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified by the specifying means Switching means for switching between a first mode in which is not executed and a second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed.

The motor control device of the present invention is
A motor control device that controls the motor without measuring the temperature of the motor with a temperature sensor,
Obtaining means for obtaining information corresponding to the rotational speed of the motor;
From the first mode in which the temperature increase suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so as not to increase the temperature of the motor is performed according to the information corresponding to the rotation speed of the motor acquired by the acquisition unit, Switching means for switching to a second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed,
When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is large, the switching means changes the operation mode of the motor from the first mode when the motor rotates continuously at the first rotation speed. When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is small when the mode is switched to the second mode, the motor rotates continuously for a second number of rotations greater than the first number of rotations. The operation mode of the motor is switched from the first mode to the second mode.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to execute control for switching the motor operation mode in consideration of the load applied to the motor.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a part of motor control device to which the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the process which changes the operation mode of a drive motor which the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied performs. It is a flowchart which shows the initialization process of the temperature coefficient which the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied performs. It is the graph illustrated about the temperature change of a drive motor at the time of continuing driving a drive motor at a fixed speed. It is a temperature coefficient table | surface used in the temperature estimation of a drive motor by the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a temperature coefficient table | surface used in the temperature estimation of a drive motor by the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the process which changes the operation mode of a drive motor which the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied performs. It is a flowchart which shows the process which changes the operation mode of a drive motor which the motor control apparatus to which this invention is applied performs. It is a table utilized in determination of a threshold value by the motor control device to which the present invention is applied.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, within the scope of the present invention, the present invention includes modifications and improvements appropriately made to the embodiments described below based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood to enter.

(First embodiment)
A motor control apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. In the present embodiment, an inkjet recording type multifunction peripheral (MFP) is illustrated as the motor control device. The motor control device is not limited to the above-described device, and may be any device that can control the motor by estimating the temperature of the motor. That is, the motor control device may be a device such as a full-color printer, a monochrome printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a scanner. Further, the motor control device may be a single-function device (SFP) instead of the MFP. If the motor control device has a printer function, the printing method of the transport device is not limited to the ink jet method, and may be an electrophotographic method, for example. The motor control device may be a device that controls a motor provided in a device such as a printer from the outside of the device.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the motor control device of the present embodiment. The MFP 100 is a motor control device of the present embodiment, and has a function as a scanner and a function as a facsimile in addition to a function as a printer.

  The CPU 101 is a system control unit and is a processor that controls the entire MFP 100.

  The ROM 102 stores various programs such as a control program executed by the CPU 101 and an embedded operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) program. In the present embodiment, the control program stored in the ROM 102 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 102.

  The volatile RAM 103 is a rewritable working memory that retains data in which stored data is volatilized when the power is turned off. On the other hand, the non-volatile RAM 104 is a memory that can hold stored data even when the power is turned off, although the rewriting speed is slower than that of the volatile RAM 103. The volatile RAM 103 and the nonvolatile RAM 104 are also used as work memories for executing various programs stored in a memory such as the ROM 102.

  The operation unit 105 is for accepting an operation from a user, and includes a numeric input key, a mode setting key, a determination key, a cancel key, a power key, and the like.

  The image reading unit 106 is an image sensor unit that reads a document. The image sensor unit includes an image sensor in which light sources for irradiating light on a document and elements for photoelectrically converting the reflected light are read. The image reading unit 106 corresponds to an image reading unit 209 described later.

  The image reading control unit 107 is a circuit that performs A / D (analog / digital) conversion on the analog electrical signal read by the image reading unit 106 and specifies the reference position of the image reading unit 106. The image reading control unit 107 also has a function of performing DMA (direct memory access) transfer in order to store the converted data in the volatile RAM 103.

  The image processing unit 108 is a circuit that reads out image data stored in the volatile RAM 103 and performs various image processing on the image data. For example, the image processing unit 108 encodes the image data stored in the volatile RAM 103 by the image reading control unit 107 using the JPEG method or the like, and stores the encoded data in the volatile RAM 103 again. Note that the encoding process by the image processing unit 108 operates in parallel with the process of storing the image data in the volatile RAM 103 by the image reading control unit 107. Further, the area of the volatile RAM 103 in which the encoded image data is stored is released and used again by the image reading control unit 107 to store the image data. As described above, the MFP 100 can store a larger amount of image data on the volatile RAM 103 by sequentially encoding the read image data than when the image data is not encoded. Therefore, MFP 100 can execute reading even when the storage area that can be used for reading is limited. Further, since the data capacity of the encoded image data is smaller than the data capacity of the unencoded image data, the MFP 100 can transmit the image data at a high speed by executing the encoding process.

  The image forming unit 109 is a unit that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper, an OHP sheet, a label, or a film using a recording agent such as ink.

  The external interface 110 is a unit for connecting the MFP 100 and the external device 114 via the external bus 112. The external device 114 may be any device that can communicate with the motor control device, such as a smart phone, a portable terminal, a personal computer (PC), a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a digital camera. In this embodiment, the external bus 112 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus), and the external device 114 and the MFP 100 are connected by wire, but the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, it may be wired by a wired LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, or may be connected wirelessly instead of wired. As the wireless communication standard, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication; ISO / IEC IS 18092), or the like is used. Further, communication may be performed directly between apparatuses, or may be performed via an external access point installed on the network.

  When executing the scanner function, the MFP 100 sends the encoded data read by the image reading unit 106 from the external interface 110 to the external device 114 via the external bus 112. When the document copy function is used, the MFP 100 performs image processing such as color conversion processing and binarization processing on the data read and encoded by the image reading unit 106, and forms an image based on the data after the image processing. A copy of the original is output by the unit 109. Further, when executing the facsimile function, the MFP 100 writes the data read and encoded by the image reading unit 106 into the modem 15 and modulates the data. Thereafter, the MFP 100 transmits the modulated data to another facsimile apparatus via the public line 16 based on the communication function defined by the ITU-T recommendation.

  The various components 101 to 110 are connected to each other via a system bus 113 managed by the CPU 101.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a part of the MFP 100.
The document transport unit 200 is configured to transport a document in order to read the document.
The document stacking unit 201 is a stacking tray for stacking documents to be transported.
The document sensor 207 is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of documents stacked on the document stacking unit 201.

  The image reading unit 209 is an image sensor unit for reading a document. For example, the image reading unit 209 irradiates light on an image information surface of a document to be read from a mounted LED, and forms reflected light reflected on the image information surface on a sensor element by a self-focusing rod lens array. To read the image information. The image reading unit 209 can move in the direction of the arrow 210 in the drawing, and is located at the standby position 211 except during the reading operation. In the present embodiment, the MFP 100 stops the image reading unit 209 at the reading position 213 and conveys the document along the conveyance path, thereby causing the image reading unit 209 to read the entire document. Note that the MFP 100 may be configured to read the document by stopping the document and scanning the image reading unit 209, or may be configured to read the document by executing both conveyance of the document and scanning of the image reading unit 209. good.

  The document edge sensor 208 is a sensor for detecting the leading edge position and the trailing edge position of the document conveyed by the conveyance roller 204. The document edge sensor 208 is configured by, for example, a photo interrupter.

  The calibration sheet 218 is a sheet on which a pattern for specifying the reference position of the image reading unit 209 is formed. The image reading unit 209 moves based on the identified reference position. The image reading unit 209 can specify the position where the pattern is read as a reference position by reading the pattern formed on the calibration sheet 218. Further, the image reading unit 209 identifies a position moved by a predetermined distance from the identified reference position as the standby position 211, and moves to the standby position 211 and waits when reading is not performed. Note that the image reading unit 209 sequentially specifies the reference position when the power is turned on and after the reading operation ends, and then moves to the standby position 211.

  In the present embodiment, the image reading unit 209 specifies the reference position using the calibration sheet 218, but is not limited to this form. For example, the image reading unit 209 may specify a position stopped by a wall installed near the reference position as the reference position.

  The drive motor 216 is a drive motor for driving the paper feed roller 203, the transport roller 204, and the paper discharge roller 205. In the present embodiment, the drive motor 216 is equipped with a rotary encoder for detecting the drive amount of the drive motor 216. In the present embodiment, the driving amount of the motor corresponds to the rotational speed of the motor.

  The drive motor 217 is a drive motor for moving the image reading unit 209. In the present embodiment, the drive motor 217 is equipped with a rotary encoder for detecting the drive amount of the drive motor 217.

  In addition, the change process of the operation mode of the drive motor mentioned later shall be performed with respect to the drive motor 216 in this embodiment. However, the change process can be performed individually for each drive motor, and can also be performed for the drive motor 217. Further, the method for detecting the drive amount of each drive motor is not limited to the method using the rotary encoder, and a configuration other than the rotary encoder may be used. Alternatively, the driving amount of a driving unit (for example, a roller such as the paper feed roller 203 or the image reading unit 209) driven by each motor may be detected, and the driving amount may be detected as the driving amount of each motor.

  When reading using the document conveyance unit 200, the MFP 100 first feeds the document 202 stacked on the top of the document stacking unit 201 into the document conveyance unit 200 by the sheet feeding roller 203.

  A document 202 fed into the document transport unit 200 is transported along a transport path by a transport roller 204. Thereafter, when the leading end of the document 202 reaches the reading position 213, the image reading unit 209 starts reading the document 202. The image reading unit 209 performs reading based on the leading edge position of the document and the trailing edge position of the document detected by the document edge sensor 208. Specifically, the image reading unit 209 starts reading the document 202 after the document edge sensor 208 detects the leading end position of the document 202 and after the document 202 is transported by a preset reading start transport amount. To do. The image reading unit 209 ends reading of the document 202 after the document edge sensor 208 detects the trailing edge position of the document 202 and then transports the document 202 by a preset reading completion transport amount. Note that the timing at which the image reading unit 209 finishes reading the document 202 may not be determined with reference to the detection result of the trailing edge position of the document 202 by the document edge sensor 208. That is, the image reading unit 209 may end the reading of the original 202 when the original 202 is conveyed by a predetermined conveyance amount after the image reading unit 209 starts reading. Also, here, the description has been made from the time when the leading edge position of the document is detected to the time when the trailing edge position of the document is detected. However, reading is started before the leading edge position of the document is detected, or the trailing edge position of the document is The configuration may be such that reading is terminated after the point in time at which this is detected.

  A document 202 read by the image reading unit 209 is conveyed by a paper discharge roller 205 and discharged to a document discharge unit 206.

  In the present embodiment, the image reading unit 209 is used not only for reading while conveying a document using the document conveying unit 200 but also for reading performed while fixing a document. In the reading performed with the document fixed, the image reading unit 209 reads the document placed on the fixed document reading surface 212 by moving in the direction of the fixed document reading surface 212.

  The control of the temperature of the drive motor in this embodiment will be described. MFP 100 realizes various functions by operating a drive motor. For example, the MFP 100 conveys a document by driving a paper feed roller 203, a conveyance roller 204, a paper discharge roller 205, and the like by a drive motor 216. Therefore, the MFP 100 needs to supply a large current to the drive motor 216 that is a roller drive unit in order to convey the document at a high speed. However, as the current applied to drive motor 216 increases, the amount of heat generated by drive motor 216 increases, and the temperature of MFP 100 including drive motor 216 increases. In addition, even when a large amount of documents are continuously conveyed, the drive motor 216 is continuously driven for a long time, so that the temperature of the MFP 100 including the drive motor 216 becomes high. Therefore, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment estimates the temperature of the drive motor, and changes the operation mode of the drive motor between a normal mode and a temperature increase suppression mode, which will be described later, based on the estimated temperature.

  Specifically, first, MFP 100 sets threshold value LOW and threshold value HIGH (threshold value LOW <threshold value HIGH) as threshold values used for determining whether or not to change the operation mode of the drive motor. The threshold is set by, for example, displaying a UI for setting the threshold on a display unit (not shown) and receiving an input of a desired threshold from the user via the UI. At this time, the threshold setting may be configured to directly input a user's desired threshold on the UI, or display a plurality of thresholds prepared in advance on the UI and allow the user to select one of them. It is good also as a structure. Alternatively, a predetermined threshold value may be set in advance at the time of arrival. When the operation mode of the drive motor is the normal mode and the estimated temperature exceeds the threshold HIGH, the MFP 100 shifts the operation mode of the drive motor to the temperature increase suppression mode. Further, when the operation mode of the drive motor is the temperature rise suppression mode and the estimated temperature is lower than the threshold LOW, the MFP 100 shifts the operation mode of the drive motor to the normal mode.

  The normal mode and the temperature rise suppression mode that are the operation modes of the drive motor will be described in detail. The normal mode is a mode in which the drive motor is driven without performing special control for suppressing the operation. When the drive motor is in the normal mode, the MFP 100 conveys the document at a conveyance speed determined according to the operation limit speed of the image reading unit 209, the processing speed of the CPU 101, the number of read colors and the resolution. At that time, the MFP 100 uses the information (feedback) related to driving of the driving motor received from the rotary encoder to control the driving motor so that the document is conveyed at a predetermined conveying speed. When the drive motor is in the normal mode, the MFP 100 reads the document continuously as long as a predetermined amount of image buffer on the volatile RAM 103 is secured. Further, when the image buffer on the volatile RAM 103 becomes less than the capacity of image data for one original during reading, the MFP 100 stops reading the next original until the image buffer becomes empty.

  Next, the temperature rise suppression mode will be described. The temperature increase suppression mode is a mode in which the temperature increase suppression control is executed so that the temperature of the drive motor does not rise too much. In the present embodiment, as temperature increase suppression control, control for stopping the drive motor for a predetermined time and control for suppressing the drive amount of the drive motor are executed. Note that when the drive motor is in the temperature rise suppression mode, the MFP 100 does not have to perform control so that the temperature rise suppression control is always executed. For example, the time during which the temperature rise suppression control is executed and the time when the temperature increase suppression control is not executed are included. It is good also as a structure controlled so that it may be repeated.

  By adopting such a form, MFP 100 suppresses an excessive increase in the temperature of the drive motor. In the present embodiment, the threshold value LOW, which is a threshold value used for determination for shifting the drive motor to the normal mode, and the threshold value HIGH, which is a threshold value used for determination for shifting the drive motor to the temperature increase suppression mode, are used. Make a difference. This is to prevent the transition between the normal mode and the temperature rise suppression mode from being performed at short intervals, and the temperature increase suppression control from being executed at unnatural intervals.

  In order to determine whether or not to change the operation mode of the drive motor, it is necessary to obtain information on the temperature of the drive motor, but the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment can determine the drive motor's temperature based on the cumulative number of rotations per unit time. Estimate the temperature. Specifically, the MFP 100 increases or decreases the value of the change amount of the temperature coefficient per unit time, which is obtained according to the temperature coefficient before the update and the cumulative number of rotations per unit time of the drive motor, from the temperature coefficient before the update. By doing so, the temperature of the drive motor is estimated. As described above, by adopting a mode for estimating the temperature of the drive motor, the MFP 100 can appropriately change the operation mode of the drive motor even if the temperature sensor for actually measuring the temperature is not provided in the drive motor. Can do. Below, the process which estimates the temperature of a drive motor is demonstrated in detail.

  The temperature coefficient is a virtual coefficient for estimating the temperature of the drive motor, and is the difference between the environment temperature Ts, which is the estimated temperature of the environment where the drive motor is located, and the estimated temperature of the drive motor. Therefore, for example, when the environmental temperature Ts is 35 ° C. and the temperature coefficient is 5, the estimated temperature of the drive motor is 40 ° C. It is assumed that the drive motor is at ambient temperature when it arrives or when the drive motor has been stopped for a long time. Therefore, the initial value of the temperature coefficient is set to 0, and the temperature coefficient is less than 0. It is calculated so that there is no. In addition, the process of updating the temperature coefficient before update to obtain a new temperature coefficient and storing it in the volatile RAM 103 (update process) is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals corresponding to unit time. Note that the MFP 100 may be configured to update not the temperature coefficient but information on the estimated temperature itself at predetermined time intervals. In addition, the newly obtained temperature coefficient information is stored not only in the volatile RAM 103 but also in other memories such as the nonvolatile RAM 104, so that even when the power is shut off and the information in the volatile RAM 103 is volatilized, The temperature coefficient information is not lost. Therefore, the MFP 100 stores the updated temperature coefficient in the non-volatile RAM 104, for example, at a timing when the updated temperature coefficient has changed by a predetermined number from the temperature coefficient stored in the non-volatile RAM 104 last time, or when printing or reading ends. Save a new one. In this embodiment, the temperature coefficient update interval is longer than the time required for acceleration / deceleration of the drive motor.

  Note that the value of the change amount of the temperature coefficient per unit time is acquired from a temperature coefficient table that is a table stored in a memory such as the nonvolatile RAM 104. The temperature coefficient table is a table as shown in FIG. 6 or 7, for example, and describes the temperature coefficient change amount according to the temperature coefficient before the update and the cumulative number of rotations per unit time (here 1 second). Has been. The temperature coefficient table is divided into columns for each predetermined range according to the cumulative number of revolutions per unit time. Note that the number of columns in the temperature coefficient table may be increased or decreased. Also, as the number of revolutions per unit time increases, more power is supplied per unit time and the amount of heat generation increases, so the amount of change in temperature coefficient per unit time described in the temperature coefficient table is It increases as the number of revolutions per hour increases. In addition, since the temperature of the driving roller is likely to change as the temperature coefficient before updating is smaller, the amount of change in the temperature coefficient per unit time in the temperature coefficient table becomes larger as the temperature coefficient before updating becomes smaller.

Note that the amount of change in the temperature coefficient per unit time in the temperature coefficient table is obtained by converting / approximate the actual measurement value obtained by driving the drive motor. For example, by converting and approximating the integral value of the current value applied when the drive motor is rotated a predetermined number of times per unit time according to the characteristics of the drive motor, the cumulative rotation number of the unit time is the predetermined number. The amount of change in temperature coefficient per unit time can be calculated. Note that, for example, a prediction equation for the temperature coefficient may be established from a graph of the rotation speed of the drive motor and the temperature of the drive motor, and the amount of change in the temperature coefficient may be calculated from the prediction equation. The prediction formula is, for example,
“Amount of change in temperature coefficient per predetermined time” = “temperature constant” * “temperature coefficient before update” + “speed constant” * “cumulative rotational speed per predetermined time” + “intercept”
It is represented by

  Thus, by making the approximate values into a table in advance, it is not necessary to perform floating point multiplication in the temperature coefficient updating process, and the calculation load on the CPU 101 can be reduced.

  In addition, the acquisition method of the information of the variation | change_quantity of the temperature coefficient per unit time is not limited to the above-mentioned form. For example, the MFP 100 extracts a column based on the number of rotations of the drive motor per unit time from the tables of FIGS. 6 and 7, and from the information shown in the extracted column, the temperature coefficient before the update, the drive Information on the amount of change may be acquired according to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor.

  The update process will be described in detail. For example, it is assumed that the temperature coefficient before update is 5 and the time interval between updates is 1 second. When one second has passed since the last update, MFP 100 acquires information on the cumulative number of rotations of the drive motor in that one second. Here, it is assumed that the cumulative number of rotations per second of the drive motor is equivalent to 10,000 slits. The slit is a unit obtained by dividing the length of one rotation of the drive motor at a predetermined interval. For example, when the distance of one rotation of the drive motor is divided by 100, one rotation of the drive motor is 100. It is equivalent to a slit. After that, the MFP 100 refers to, for example, the temperature coefficient table, and acquires information about the temperature coefficient before the update and the amount of change in the temperature coefficient according to the cumulative number of rotations per second of the drive motor. Here, it is assumed that the temperature coefficient before the update is 2.5 and the cumulative number of rotations per second of the drive motor is equivalent to 10,000 slits, and the temperature coefficient table shows the amount of change in the temperature coefficient in that case. Let it be shown that it is 0.1. In this case, the MFP 100 refers to the temperature coefficient table and acquires information indicating that the change amount of the temperature coefficient is 0.1. After that, the MFP 100 specifies a new value of the temperature coefficient 2.6 by adding the amount of change of the temperature coefficient from the temperature coefficient before the update, and overwrites the volatile RAM 103 with the newly obtained value to change the temperature coefficient. Update coefficient information.

  Further, it is assumed that the temperature coefficient before the update is 2.5, and the drive motor is stopped after the previous update process, so that the cumulative number of rotations per second of the drive motor is equivalent to 0 slit. Further, it is assumed that the temperature coefficient table indicates that the change amount of the temperature coefficient in that case is −0.1. In this case, MFP 100 refers to the temperature coefficient table and obtains information that the change amount of the temperature coefficient is −0.1. After that, the MFP 100 specifies a new value of the temperature coefficient 2.4 by adding the amount of change of the temperature coefficient from the temperature coefficient before the update, and overwrites the volatile RAM 103 with the newly obtained value to change the temperature coefficient. Update coefficient information.

  By doing so, the MFP 100 can estimate the temperature of the drive motor at every predetermined time interval. Further, the MFP 100 can estimate the temperature of the motor with an inexpensive and simple configuration such as a rotary encoder.

  However, the amount of change per unit time of the temperature of the drive motor increases as the total number of revolutions of the drive motor increases and wear and deterioration of the drive motor progress. Here, the total number of rotations is, for example, the total number of all rotations of the drive motor after being shipped from the factory. FIG. 5 shows the temperature of the drive motor when the drive motor in a state where the total number of revolutions is large (the load is large) and the drive motor in a state where the total number of revolutions is small (the load is small) are continuously driven at a constant speed. It is the graph illustrated about change. The vertical axis of the graph shows the temperature of the drive motor, and the horizontal axis shows the operating time of the drive motor. As shown in FIG. 5, when driving at the same rotational speed, the temperature of the drive motor that rises per unit time is such that the drive motor with a higher total number of revolutions has a lower total number of revolutions. Larger than the motor. That is, the drive motor in a state where the total number of revolutions is high reaches a temperature at which the temperature must be shifted to the temperature increase suppression mode at a lower number of revolutions than the drive motor in a state where the total number of revolutions is low. This is because a drive motor with a high total number of revolutions and advancing wear and deterioration has a large load on rotation, and thus a large current needs to be applied to drive the motor.

  Thus, the temperature of the drive motor that rises per unit time varies depending on the load state of the drive motor. Therefore, if MFP 100 performs temperature estimation without considering changes in the load state of the drive motor, a difference occurs between the estimated temperature and the actual temperature. For example, when the MFP 100 estimates the temperature of a drive motor with a large load using a temperature coefficient table obtained by approximating an actual measurement value obtained by driving a drive motor with a small load, The estimated temperature is lower than the actual drive motor temperature. Therefore, for example, although the drive motor is actually heated to a temperature at which the temperature increase suppression mode must be shifted, the estimated temperature is low, so the drive motor shifts to the temperature increase suppression mode. The situation that cannot be done occurs. In addition, when estimating the temperature of the drive motor with a small load using the temperature coefficient table obtained by approximating the actual measurement value obtained by driving the drive motor with a large load, the estimated temperature Becomes higher than the actual temperature of the drive motor. Therefore, for example, although the drive motor is actually kept at a temperature that does not need to shift to the temperature rise suppression mode, the estimated temperature is high, so the drive motor shifts to the temperature rise suppression mode. The situation will occur.

  Therefore, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment performs temperature estimation in consideration of the load state of the motor, and changes the operation mode. Specifically, MFP 100 uses different temperature coefficient tables according to the total number of rotations of the motor in temperature estimation. 6 and 7 are temperature coefficient tables used by the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment for estimating the temperature of the drive motor. FIG. 6 shows, for example, a temperature coefficient graph 501 in FIG. 5 because the total number of revolutions is small, so that wear and deterioration have not progressed so much and the temperature when driving a drive motor with such a small load is driven. It is the temperature coefficient table | surface obtained by converting and approximating measured value. This temperature coefficient table is used when the number of A4 sheets that can be conveyed by rotation of the drive motor by the total number of rotations of the drive motor is less than 5000 sheets. FIG. 7 shows an actual measured value of the temperature when the drive motor is driven in a state where wear and deterioration are progressing due to the large total number of revolutions, such as the temperature coefficient graph 502 in FIG. Is a temperature coefficient table obtained by converting and approximating.

  This temperature coefficient table is used when the number of A4 sheets that can be conveyed by the rotation of the drive motor by the total number of rotations of the drive motor is 5000 or more. Hereinafter, the temperature coefficient table used when the total rotational speed of the drive motor is small as shown in FIG. 6 is the temperature coefficient table 1 and the temperature coefficient table used when the total rotational speed of the drive motor is large as shown in FIG. Is referred to as temperature coefficient table 2. The value obtained from each temperature coefficient table is the change in the temperature of the drive motor obtained from the temperature coefficient table 2 under the same condition as the amount of change in the temperature of the drive motor obtained from the temperature coefficient table 1 under a predetermined condition. It is set to be smaller than or equal to the amount. Note that the number of temperature coefficient tables used is not limited to two, and three or more temperature coefficient tables corresponding to drive motors having different load states may be used. In the present embodiment, the temperature coefficient table to be used is determined by converting the total number of rotations of the drive motor into the number of A4 sheets in order to reduce the amount of information to be stored. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and the temperature coefficient table to be used may be determined by, for example, the total number of revolutions of the drive motor itself or the number of slits corresponding to the total number of revolutions of the drive motor. Further, if the drive motor is maintained or replaced, the load of the drive motor is reduced. For this reason, a configuration may be adopted in which when the replacement of the drive motor is detected by the sensor, or when the MFP 100 enters the maintenance mode, the drive rotation speed is reset.

  By adopting such a configuration, MFP 100 can estimate the temperature of the drive motor in accordance with the load state of the drive motor, and can appropriately switch the operation mode of the drive motor.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing temperature coefficient initialization processing executed by the MFP 100 in this embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a program stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD (not shown) included in the MFP 100 into the volatile RAM 103 or the nonvolatile RAM 104 and executing the program. The Further, the process illustrated in this flowchart is started when a power-on process for turning on the power of MFP 100 is performed.

  In step S <b> 401, the CPU 101 executes a known startup sequence and diagnoses whether there is an abnormality in the hardware of the MFP 100.

  In step S <b> 402, the CPU 101 determines whether the information stored in the volatile RAM 103 is volatile. Specifically, the CPU 101 refers to the information related to the power on / off timing stored in the memory such as the non-volatile RAM 104, and the current power on process is performed for the first time after the power is turned off (hard power off). It is determined whether or not the power is on. When the current power-on process is the first power-on process performed after the power is turned off, the temperature coefficient information stored in the volatile RAM 103 is lost. Therefore, when the current power-on process is a power-on process by returning from the power-off state, the CPU 101 determines that the information stored in the volatile RAM 103 is volatile and performs the process of S403. . On the other hand, if the current power-on process is not the first power-on process performed after the power-off process, the current power-on process is a power-on process by returning from the energy-saving mode and is stored in the volatile RAM 103. The temperature coefficient information that had been stored is not lost. Therefore, if the current power-on process is a power-on process by returning from the energy saving mode, the CPU 101 determines that the information stored in the volatile RAM 103 is volatile, and performs the process of S404.

  In step S <b> 403, the CPU 101 updates the temperature coefficient information stored in the volatile RAM 103. While in the power saving mode, the drive motor is stopped, so the temperature of the drive motor continues to drop, but the temperature coefficient update process is also stopped at the same time. Therefore, the temperature of the drive motor is estimated by taking into account the temperature that has decreased while in the power saving mode by executing the update process for all the interrupted operations due to the power saving mode. . Specifically, CPU 101 first acquires information on the time when MFP 100 is in the power saving mode, as measured by an internal timer (not shown). Thereafter, the process of updating the temperature coefficient information based on the temperature coefficient table is repeated a number of times according to the acquired time. For example, when the update process is set to be performed every second and the time when the MFP 100 has been in the power saving mode is 600 seconds, the CPU 101 repeats the update process 600 times to drive after the power is turned on. Estimate the motor temperature.

  In S <b> 404, the CPU 101 acquires temperature coefficient information from the nonvolatile RAM 104 and stores it in the volatile RAM 103. This is because the temperature coefficient information is lost from the volatile RAM 103 when the power is turned off.

  In step S <b> 405, the CPU 101 updates the temperature coefficient information stored in the volatile RAM 103. Since the drive motor is stopped during the time from when the power is connected (after the hard power is turned on) to when the power is turned on, the temperature of the drive motor continues to decrease, but the temperature coefficient is updated. Processing is also stopped at the same time. Therefore, the update process for the time elapsed until the power-on process is performed is performed in a batch, and the temperature of the drive motor is estimated in consideration of the temperature that has decreased during that time. Specifically, the CPU 101 first obtains, from the internal timer, information on the time that has elapsed since the power-on process was performed after the power was connected (after the hardware power was turned on). Thereafter, the process of updating the temperature coefficient information based on the temperature coefficient table is repeated a number of times according to the acquired time.

  The MFP 100 can estimate the temperature of the drive motor after the power is turned on by executing the initialization process as described above.

  In the initialization process, the temperature coefficient table to be used may be switched according to the load state of the drive motor, or either the temperature coefficient table 1 or the temperature coefficient table 2 may be used every time. This is because the amount of change in the temperature of the drive motor when the drive motor is stopped does not change greatly depending on the load state of the drive motor.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the operation mode of the drive motor, which is executed by the MFP 100 in the present embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a program stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD (not shown) included in the MFP 100 into the volatile RAM 103 or the nonvolatile RAM 104 and executing the program. The The process shown in this flowchart is started when the initialization process shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and is repeated endlessly while the power is on.

In step S <b> 301, the CPU 101 acquires temperature coefficient information from the volatile RAM 103.
In S302, the CPU 101 calculates the cumulative number of rotations within one second (within a predetermined time) of the drive motor by the rotary encoder.

  In S303, the CPU 101 acquires information on the total number of rotations of the drive motor. Specifically, first, the CPU 101 newly calculates the total rotational speed of the drive motor by adding the cumulative rotational speed calculated in S302 to the total rotational speed of the drive motor acquired during the previous update process. Thereafter, the CPU 101 converts the calculated total number of rotations into the number of A4 sheets that can be conveyed when the drive motor rotates by the calculated value, and stores the converted value in the volatile RAM 103.

  In S304, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the value converted in S303 is less than 5000 sheets. If the number is less than 5000, the CPU 101 performs the process of S305, and is stored in the volatile RAM 103 based on the temperature coefficient acquired in S301, the cumulative number of rotations per second acquired in S302, and the temperature coefficient table 1. Update the temperature coefficient information. In the case of 5000 sheets or more, the CPU 101 performs the process of S306 and is stored in the volatile RAM 103 based on the temperature coefficient acquired in S301, the cumulative number of rotations per second acquired in S302, and the temperature coefficient table 2. Update the temperature coefficient information. In step S304, the CPU 101 may perform the determination based on the total number of rotations of the drive motor itself or the number of slits corresponding to the total number of rotations of the drive motor.

  In step S <b> 307, the CPU 101 stores the updated temperature coefficient and total rotation number information in the nonvolatile RAM 104. Note that the CPU 101 determines whether the updated temperature coefficient has changed by a predetermined number from the temperature coefficient stored in the nonvolatile RAM 104 last time, and whether printing or reading has been completed, and the conditions are not satisfied. In such a case, the configuration may be such that S307 is not performed.

  In S308, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the operation mode of the drive motor is a normal mode (a temperature rise suppression mode). In the normal mode, the CPU 101 performs the process of S311. When it is not the normal mode but the temperature rise suppression mode, the CPU 101 performs the process of S309.

  In S309, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the updated temperature coefficient is smaller than the threshold value LOW. When the temperature coefficient is smaller than the threshold value LOW, the CPU 101 performs the process of S310 to shift the drive motor to the normal mode. When the temperature coefficient is smaller than the threshold value LOW, the CPU 101 performs the process of S313 without changing the operation mode of the drive motor.

  In S311, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the updated temperature coefficient is greater than the threshold HIGH. When the temperature coefficient exceeds the threshold HIGH, the CPU 101 performs the process of S312 to shift the drive motor to the temperature increase suppression mode. If the temperature coefficient does not exceed the threshold HIGH, the CPU 101 performs the process of S313 without changing the operation mode of the drive motor.

  In S313, the CPU 101 waits for a predetermined time. This is because the CPU 101 performs update processing at predetermined time intervals. Thereafter, the CPU 101 performs the process of S301 again.

  As described above, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment changes the operation mode of the drive motor based on the temperature of the drive motor estimated in consideration of the load state of the drive motor, thereby changing the operation mode of the drive motor at an appropriate timing. Can be changed.

  Note that the process for determining which temperature coefficient table is to be used (S803 and S804) may not be performed for each temperature coefficient update process. For example, the configuration may be such that the process is executed for each initialization process, and thereafter the update process is performed using the determined temperature coefficient table.

(Second Embodiment)
In the present embodiment, a motor control device that can accurately estimate the temperature of a drive motor with high accuracy will be described. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, the temperature of the drive motor is regarded as the environmental temperature Ts (temperature coefficient is 0) when it has not been operated for a long time. However, since the environmental temperature Ts is a value set in advance by the user or supplier as the estimated temperature of the environment in which the drive motor is located, it may be different from the actual temperature of the environment in which the drive motor is located. When the environmental temperature Ts is different from the actual environmental temperature, the temperature is not correctly estimated, and thus the operation mode of the drive motor is not appropriately changed. For example, when the environmental temperature Ts is lower than the actual environmental temperature, the estimated temperature is estimated to be higher than the actual temperature. Shifts to the temperature rise suppression mode.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the MFP 100 measures the environmental temperature using a temperature sensor installed in a portion other than the drive motor. Then, the operation mode of the drive motor is changed according to the temperature measurement result. Specifically, MFP 100 uses a temperature sensor provided in a recording head (not shown) provided in image forming unit 109 to measure the environmental temperature. Then, the threshold used for determining whether or not to change the operation mode of the drive motor is corrected according to the measurement result. By adopting such a configuration, MFP 100 can change the operation motor of the drive motor more appropriately. In the present embodiment, the temperature sensor measures the temperature of the recording head. However, the present invention is not limited to this mode, and the temperature sensor may measure the temperature of any object as long as the actual temperature can be measured.

  The operation mode changing process in this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the MFP 100 changes the operation mode of the drive motor in consideration of the correction temperature Td that is a value corresponding to the difference between the environmental temperature Ts and the actual environmental temperature.

  The recording head temperature Tp, which is a temperature measured by a temperature sensor provided in the recording head, is a value close to the actual environmental temperature when the recording head has not been operated for a long time. Therefore, first, the MFP 100 measures the recording head temperature Tp with a temperature sensor. Thereafter, the MFP 100 subtracts the print head temperature Tp from the environmental temperature Ts (35 ° C. in the present embodiment), which is information acquired from a memory such as the nonvolatile RAM 104, and calculates a correction temperature Td. Thereafter, if the correction temperature Td is a value larger than 0 (35 ° C.> recording head temperature Tp), the MFP 100 determines whether or not to change the operation mode of the drive motor with a value obtained by adding the correction temperature Td to the threshold HIGH. Used for judgment. At this time, a value obtained by multiplying the correction temperature Td by a predetermined coefficient may be added to the threshold HIGH. If the correction temperature Td is 0 or less (35 ° C. ≦ recording head temperature Tp), the threshold value LOW and the threshold value HIGH are used without change.

  By adopting such a configuration, MFP 100 can appropriately change the operation mode of the drive motor in consideration of an error between the actual environmental temperature and environmental temperature TS.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing for changing the operation mode of the drive motor, which is executed by the MFP 100 in the present embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a program stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD (not shown) included in the MFP 100 into the volatile RAM 103 or the nonvolatile RAM 104 and executing the program. The The process shown in this flowchart is started when the initialization process shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and is repeated endlessly while the power is on.

  Since the processing from S801 to S813 is the same as the processing from S301 to S313, the description thereof is omitted.

  In S814, the CPU 101 calculates a correction temperature Td. The correction temperature Td is a value obtained by subtracting the print head temperature Tp from the environmental temperature set in the MFP 100 as described above.

  In S815, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the correction temperature Td calculated in S814 is 0 or less. When the correction temperature Td is 0 or less, the CPU 101 performs the process of S816 and changes the correction temperature Td to 0. This is because the environmental temperature Ts is the maximum temperature assumed in the environment in which the drive motor is located. Therefore, when the recording head temperature Tp exceeds the environmental temperature Ts (when the correction temperature Td is 0 or less), recording is performed. This is because it is assumed that the head temperature Tp is not accurate.

  In S817, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the temperature coefficient updated in S805 or S806 exceeds a value obtained by adding the correction temperature Td to the threshold HIGH. When it exceeds, CPU101 performs the process of S812 and makes a drive motor transfer to temperature rising suppression mode. If not, the CPU 101 performs the process of S813. In S817, the CPU 101 may determine whether or not a value obtained by subtracting the correction temperature Td from the temperature coefficient updated in S805 or S806 exceeds the threshold HIGH.

  By adopting such a configuration, MFP 100 does not include a temperature sensor in the drive motor, but changes the operation mode of the drive motor in a configuration in which a temperature sensor is provided in a portion other than the drive sensor. Can be performed more appropriately.

  In the present embodiment, the correction temperature Td is added to the threshold HIGH. However, for example, the same effect can be obtained by subtracting the correction temperature Td from the estimated temperature coefficient.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in the control for shifting from the temperature increase suppression mode to the normal mode (S809), priority is given to reliably lowering the temperature of the drive motor by executing the temperature increase suppression control for a long time. The threshold LOW is not changed in consideration of the correction temperature Td. However, when priority is given to shifting earlier in the normal mode, the CPU 101 may use a value obtained by subtracting the correction temperature Td from the threshold LOW as the threshold in the determination in S809.

  In this embodiment, the print head temperature Tp is regarded as the actual environmental temperature. However, the print head temperature Tp may be different from the actual environmental temperature, for example, when the print head is heated by operating the print head. is there. Therefore, the control according to the present embodiment is particularly effective when the operation of the measurement target (the print head in the present embodiment) by the temperature sensor is not generated.

(Third embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, the total rotational speed of the drive motor is measured as the load state of the drive motor, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when wear or deterioration of the drive motor progresses, the power value (the duty value of the PWM signal) that must be applied to drive the drive motor increases at a predetermined rotational speed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a mode in which the temperature coefficient table is switched according to the power value applied to the drive motor instead of the total rotation speed of the drive motor will be described. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, MFP 100 is assumed to include an encoder for detecting the rotational speed of the drive motor and a servo amplifier that supplies power to the drive motor in accordance with a command from CPU 101. In this embodiment, this encoder is a rotary encoder provided in the drive motor 216 or the like. The drive motor is driven by servo control using position information and speed information obtained from the encoder at a rotational speed corresponding to the PWM signal (pulse wave) supplied from the servo amplifier. Servo control is realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the ROM 102. The servo control process is repeatedly performed every predetermined period (servo period).

  When the drive motor starts driving, a feedback pulse proportional to the rotation speed is generated by the encoder. When the generated feedback pulse is fed back to the servo amplifier, the CPU 101 recognizes whether or not the drive motor is driven at an appropriate rotation speed according to the power commanded by the CPU 101. When the CPU 101 recognizes that the drive motor is not rotating at the commanded rotation speed, the CPU 101 calculates an error between the rotation speed recognized from the feedback and an appropriate rotation speed. Thereafter, the rotational speed of the drive motor is corrected by instructing the servo amplifier to supply a PWM signal (pulse wave) increased or decreased to compensate for the rotational speed error according to the calculated value. Note that the PWM signal output from the servo amplifier to the drive motor is represented by a duty value (ratio between high level and low level, ratio between on and off). The range of the duty value is 0% to 100%. The greater the duty value, the greater the power supplied to the motor.

  Further, as described above, the drive motor is subjected to a load due to wear and deterioration and is difficult to rotate. Therefore, as the wear and deterioration of the drive motor progresses and the load on the drive motor increases, the error between the rotation speed recognized from the feedback from the encoder and the appropriate rotation speed increases, and the servo is used to correct it. Large power is supplied from the amplifier. That is, as the load on the drive motor increases, the duty value of the PWM signal increases.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the duty value of the PWM signal is measured as the load state of the drive motor, and the temperature coefficient table to be used is switched according to the measurement result.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing for changing the operation mode of the drive motor, which is executed by the MFP 100 in the present embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a program stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD (not shown) included in the MFP 100 into the volatile RAM 103 or the nonvolatile RAM 104 and executing the program. The The process shown in this flowchart is started when the initialization process shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and is repeated endlessly while the power is on.

  Since the processing from S901 to S913 is the same as the processing from S301 to S313, the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S914, the CPU 101 acquires information on the duty value of the PWM signal output from the servo amplifier to the drive motor.

  In S915, the CPU 101 determines a threshold value used in the determination in S916. Specifically, the CPU 101 acquires threshold information corresponding to the rotational speed of the drive motor according to the magnitude of the supplied power commanded to the servo amplifier from the threshold table as shown in FIG. This is because the CPU 101 serves as a reference in the determination of S916 depending on the rotation speed of the drive motor (how much power is to be supplied to the servo amplifier). This is because the duty value of the signal changes.

  In S916, the CPU 101 determines whether the duty value acquired in S914 is smaller than the threshold value determined in S915. If the duty value is smaller than the threshold value, the CPU 101 determines that the drive motor has not deteriorated and the load is small, and updates the temperature coefficient based on the temperature coefficient table 1 in S905. . Further, when the duty value is larger than the threshold value, the CPU 101 determines that the drive motor has deteriorated and the load is large, and updates the temperature coefficient based on the temperature coefficient table 2 in S906. To do.

  By adopting such a form, it is possible to determine the degree of deterioration of the drive motor from the duty value of the PWM signal and to switch the temperature coefficient table to be used.

  Note that the determination of the threshold value of the duty ratio of the PWM signal and the determination of whether the duty ratio of the PWM signal exceeds the threshold value may not be performed every time the temperature coefficient is updated. For example, after the driving roller stops, every time the driving is started, the CPU 101 issues a command to rotate at a predetermined rotational speed, and whether the duty ratio of the PWM signal exceeds the threshold value is set to a threshold value corresponding to the command. It may be judged. By adopting such a form, the threshold value according to the command is uniquely determined, so that the MFP 100 does not need to have information on a plurality of threshold values.

  Further, as in the second embodiment, the correction temperature Td may be measured, and the threshold used for determining whether to change the operation mode of the drive motor may be corrected according to the measurement result.

  The configuration of the present embodiment only needs to determine whether the load applied to the drive motor is large from the duty ratio of the PWM signal. For example, the servo control may not be performed via the servo amplifier.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the DC motor is applied as the drive motor whose operation mode is to be changed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and other types of motors may be applied.

  In the above-described embodiment, the operation mode of the drive motor is changed at the timing when the determination process such as S309 or S311 is performed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the drive motor drives the conveyance roller, the operation mode may not be changed during reading of the document or during image formation, but may be performed at the timing when the reading of the document is completed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the MFP 100 specifies the amount of change in the temperature coefficient using the temperature coefficient table. However, if the calculation load is not a problem, a graph or prediction formula that approximates the actual measurement value each time the update process is performed. The amount of change in temperature coefficient may be calculated from In that case, the graph to be used, the prediction formula, the coefficient used for value conversion / approximation, and the like are switched according to the load state of the drive motor.

  In the above-described embodiment, the temperature coefficient estimation method is switched according to the load state of the drive motor. However, it is not limited to this form, For example, the form in which the threshold value in the determination for changing the operation mode of a drive motor is changed according to the load state of a drive motor may be sufficient. That is, for example, when the load on the drive motor is large, a determination is made using a smaller threshold than when the load on the drive motor is small, and the operation mode of the drive motor is changed according to the determination result. It may be. Even if it is such a form, the effect similar to the above-mentioned embodiment can be acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the total rotational speed of the drive motor and the duty ratio of the PWM signal are measured as values indicating the degree of deterioration of the drive motor. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. That is, it is only necessary to measure parameters that can estimate the degree of deterioration of the drive motor. For example, parameters such as the drive time of the drive motor may be measured.

  The above-described embodiment supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus execute the program This process can be realized. The above-described embodiments can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

100 MFP
216 Drive motor

Claims (26)

A motor control device for controlling a motor,
First acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to the load applied to the motor;
Second acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time;
Based on the information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquisition means and the information corresponding to the driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquisition means. A specific means for identifying information corresponding to the temperature;
Based on the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified by the specifying means, the first operation is performed without executing the temperature rise suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not increase. A motor control device comprising switching means for switching between a mode and a second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed. A third acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to an initial value of a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor;
The specifying means is further based on information corresponding to an initial value of a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor acquired by the third acquiring means or information corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified by the specifying means last time, The motor control device according to claim 1, wherein information corresponding to a temperature of the motor is specified.   The specifying means is based on information corresponding to a magnitude of a load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquisition means and information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquisition means. The change amount of the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor in the predetermined time is added to the initial value as information corresponding to the temperature of the motor. 2. The motor control device according to 2.   The specifying means is based on information corresponding to a magnitude of a load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquisition means and information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquisition means. Further, information on a value obtained by adding a change amount of the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor within the predetermined time to a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor according to the information specified by the specifying unit last time is obtained. The motor control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the motor control device is specified as information corresponding to the temperature of the motor. Selection means for selecting one of a plurality of tables in which a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor is described based on the information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquisition means; In addition,
The specifying unit is based on a table in which a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor selected by the selecting unit is described, and information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquiring unit. 3. The information of the value obtained by adding the change amount of the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor within the predetermined time to the initial value is specified as information corresponding to the temperature of the motor. The motor control device according to claim 1.   The specifying unit is based on a table in which a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor selected by the selecting unit is described, and information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired by the second acquiring unit. Information on a value obtained by adding a change amount of the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor within the predetermined time to a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor according to the information specified by the specifying unit last time is obtained. 6. The motor control device according to claim 2, wherein the motor control device is specified as information corresponding to temperature. Information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is information of a value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor,
Previously, the specifying means specified a predetermined value corresponding to the motor temperature as information corresponding to the motor temperature, and the second acquisition means corresponds to the driving amount as information corresponding to the driving amount within a predetermined time. When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is the first value, the amount of change within the predetermined time of the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor is the previous value. The specifying means specifies the predetermined value corresponding to the motor temperature as information corresponding to the motor temperature, and the second acquisition means corresponds to the driving amount as information corresponding to the driving amount within a predetermined time. The predetermined value of information corresponding to the temperature of the motor when the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is a second value greater than the first value. From the amount of change in time The motor control device according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that again. The information corresponding to the drive amount of the motor within a predetermined time is information on the number of rotations of the motor within a predetermined time,
Previously, the specifying means specified a predetermined value corresponding to the motor temperature as information corresponding to the motor temperature, and the second acquisition means corresponds to the driving amount as information corresponding to the driving amount within a predetermined time. And the amount of change in the predetermined time of the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor when the rotational speed of the motor in the predetermined time is the first rotational speed is The specifying unit specifies the predetermined value corresponding to the temperature of the motor as information corresponding to the temperature of the motor, and the second acquisition unit corresponds to the driving amount as information corresponding to the driving amount within a predetermined time. The predetermined time of the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor when the predetermined value is acquired and the rotational speed of the motor within a predetermined time is a second rotational speed greater than the first rotational speed Less than the amount of change The motor control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in.   The motor control device according to claim 8, wherein the number of rotations of the motor within a predetermined time is measured by a rotary encoder. The information corresponding to the temperature of the motor is information of a value corresponding to the temperature of the motor,
The switching means changes the operation mode of the motor from the first mode when the operation mode of the motor is the first mode and the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor is greater than a predetermined threshold. When the motor operation mode is the second mode and the value corresponding to the motor temperature is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the motor operation mode is described as the second mode. The motor control device according to claim 1, wherein the motor control device is switched from the first mode to the first mode.   The switching means changes the motor operation mode from the first mode when the motor operation mode is the first mode and the value corresponding to the motor temperature is greater than a first threshold. When the operation mode of the motor is the second mode and the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor is smaller than a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value, the motor is switched to the second mode. The motor control device according to claim 10, wherein the operation mode is switched from the second mode to the first mode.   The at least one threshold value among the first threshold value and the second threshold value is varied based on an acquisition result of a fourth acquisition unit that acquires a temperature of a predetermined object. Motor control device.   13. The motor control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the fifth acquisition unit acquires a temperature of a recording head for performing ink jet recording as the predetermined object.   The motor control device according to claim 13, wherein when the acquisition result of the fifth acquisition means is larger than a predetermined value, the first threshold and the second threshold are not changed.   When the operation mode of the motor is the first mode and the motor is continuously driven at a predetermined rotation speed from a predetermined time, the switching unit corresponds to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor. The motor control device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein an operation mode of the motor is switched from the first mode to the second mode at an earlier time as the value is larger. . A motor control device for controlling a motor,
First acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to the load applied to the motor;
Determining means for determining a threshold according to information corresponding to a load applied to the motor acquired by the first acquiring means;
Second acquisition means for acquiring information corresponding to a temperature of the motor based on information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor for a predetermined time;
Temperature rise suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not rise based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit and information corresponding to the motor temperature acquired by the specifying unit A motor control device comprising switching means for switching between a first mode in which the control is not executed and a second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed. A motor control device that controls the motor without measuring the temperature of the motor with a temperature sensor,
Obtaining means for obtaining information corresponding to the rotational speed of the motor;
From the first mode in which the temperature increase suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so as not to increase the temperature of the motor is performed according to the information corresponding to the rotation speed of the motor acquired by the acquisition unit, Switching means for switching to a second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed,
When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is large, the switching means changes the operation mode of the motor from the first mode when the motor rotates continuously at the first rotation speed. When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is small when the mode is switched to the second mode, the motor rotates continuously for a second number of rotations greater than the first number of rotations. A motor control device that switches an operation mode of a motor from the first mode to the second mode.   The information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is any one of information on the total number of revolutions of the motor, information on a duty ratio of a pulse for driving the motor, and information on a driving time of the motor. The motor control device according to claim 1, wherein the motor control device is a motor control device. It further comprises detection means for detecting whether or not the motor has been replaced,
The information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is either information on the total number of revolutions of the motor or information on the driving time of the motor,
The information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is reset when the detecting means detects that the motor has been replaced. The motor control apparatus described.   20. The temperature rise suppression control is at least one of a control for stopping the motor and a control for reducing the driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time. The motor control apparatus of Claim 1. A conveying unit that conveys the document;
21. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motor is driven to operate the transport unit.   The motor control device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, further comprising an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium using a recording agent. A control method of a motor control device for controlling a motor,
A first acquisition step of acquiring information corresponding to a magnitude of a load applied to the motor;
A second acquisition step of acquiring information corresponding to the driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time;
Based on the information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor acquired in the first acquisition step and the information corresponding to the driving amount of the motor within a predetermined time acquired in the second acquisition step. A specific step of identifying information corresponding to the temperature of the motor;
Based on the information corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified in the specifying step, a first mode in which the temperature rise suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not rise is not executed; A control method comprising a switching step of switching between the second mode in which the temperature rise suppression control is executed. A control method of a motor control device for controlling a motor,
A first acquisition step of acquiring information corresponding to a magnitude of a load applied to the motor;
A determination step of determining a threshold according to information corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor acquired in the first acquisition step;
A specifying step for specifying information corresponding to a temperature of the motor based on information corresponding to a driving amount of the motor for a predetermined time;
Based on the threshold value determined in the determining step and the value corresponding to the temperature of the motor specified in the specifying step, a temperature increase for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not increase A control method comprising: a switching step of switching between a first mode in which the suppression control is not executed and a second mode in which the temperature increase suppression control is executed. A method of controlling a motor control device that controls the motor without measuring the temperature of the motor with a temperature sensor,
An acquisition step of acquiring information corresponding to the rotation speed of the motor;
The first mode in which the temperature rise suppression control for controlling the operation mode of the motor so that the temperature of the motor does not rise is executed according to the information corresponding to the rotation speed of the motor obtained in the obtaining step. And a switching step of switching to a second mode in which the temperature increase suppression control is executed,
In the switching step, when the value corresponding to the load applied to the motor is large, the motor operation mode is changed from the first mode when the motor continuously rotates at the first rotation speed. When the value corresponding to the magnitude of the load applied to the motor is small when the mode is switched to the second mode, the motor rotates continuously for a second number of rotations greater than the first number of rotations. A control method comprising: switching an operation mode of a motor from the first mode to the second mode.   23. A program for realizing each means of the motor control device according to claim 1 by a computer.

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