JPH07156493A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a printer in which an entire operation is not redundant and a wasteful operation is not necessarily conducted at a carriage by detecting an initial frequency to be applied to an actuator at the time of starting to print in the step of moving a carriage from a home position. CONSTITUTION:The printer comprises a carriage 50 for carrying a printing head, an ultrasonic actuator 53 for driving the carriage 50, drive control means 100 for controlling a drive signal to be applied to the actuator 53, and an automatic sheet feeder. The means 100 detects driving characteristics of the actuator 53 in the step of moving the carriage 50 from the home position toward a power transmitting position to the feeder before printing is started, and controls a drive signal of the actuator 53 at the time of starting to print based on detected driving characteristics. As a result, an entire operation does not become redundant, and the printer not necessary to conduct a wasteful operation at the carriage can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer configured to drive a carriage using an ultrasonic actuator as a drive source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an ultrasonic actuator utilizing resonance vibration has a frequency-speed characteristic change due to environmental changes such as temperature. That is, even if the ultrasonic actuator is driven at the same frequency, the driving speed changes depending on the environmental temperature.

FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the frequency of the AC voltage applied to the piezoelectric element of the actuator and the driving speed of the carriage in a known printer configured to drive the carriage by an ultrasonic actuator. There is.

As shown in the figure, even with the same ultrasonic actuator, the characteristics vary depending on the environment, the temperature of the vibrating body, and the like, such as the characteristic A drawn by the solid line and the characteristic B drawn by the broken line. When driving the ultrasonic actuator, it starts up at a certain frequency and then controls the frequency according to the speed.
If the frequency at startup is too close to the resonance frequency, the speed will be too high at startup, and if it is far from the resonance frequency, it will take a long time for the speed to rise.
The initial frequency must be set to a value according to the environment. There is also a method of determining the frequency based on a value detected by a temperature sensor or the like in order to make the value according to the environment, but it is not preferable because the sensor or the like is costly.

Therefore, there has been a demand for a drive control method capable of compensating for variations in drive characteristics without using a sensor or the like and setting an appropriate starting frequency according to environmental changes.

In general, when controlling the speed of an ultrasonic actuator, the frequency is controlled by feeding back the speed detection signal. However, a printer having a large inertial mass such as a carriage of a printer responds to the speed detection signal. When feedback control is performed by using the feedback control, there is a problem that precise speed control becomes difficult because the delay of speed following is large, and in particular, the rising characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator at the time of start-up deteriorates.

Therefore, in order to improve the rising characteristics, the frequency of the applied voltage corresponding to the speed of the ultrasonic actuator when the carriage is driven at a certain speed is stored before the printing operation is started, and the carriage is printed. When starting at the start, the frequency stored in advance is first applied to start the ultrasonic actuator and the carriage, and then the frequency of the drive voltage of the actuator is controlled by feedback control of the speed detection signal of the carriage. A carriage drive control method called "," has been proposed by the present applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-167943).

The content of this prior application is that the relationship between the frequency and speed of the ultrasonic actuator changes depending on the environment. Therefore, in order to detect the characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator, which is the power source of the carriage, immediately before printing, the carriage As a preparatory operation before printing, the drive frequency is swept when moving to the home position to detect the speed relative to the frequency of the ultrasonic actuator, and during printing, the ultrasonic actuator is controlled with the frequency based on this as the initial frequency, It was a drive that was always stable.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned method has the following problems that are not suitable for the actual usage of the printer.

A user often returns the carriage to the home position when the printer has been used or the printer is turned off. Therefore, when the printer is reused, the characteristic of the ultrasonic actuator cannot be detected because the carriage is located at the home position from the beginning. Therefore, since information for activating the ultrasonic actuator cannot be obtained at the time of reuse, in order to obtain information for activating, the carriage must be moved from the home position to another position and then returned to the home position again. However, if such an operation is performed by the carriage, the operation of the printer becomes redundant and the attractiveness as a product is impaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a printer in which the entire operation is not redundant and the carriage does not need to perform an unnecessary operation.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, before the printer enters the printing operation and immediately before entering the automatic paper feeding operation, or in the case of an ink jet printer, the head is recovered. Immediately before starting the operation, the characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator are detected while moving the carriage from the home position to a predetermined position, and the initial frequency to be applied to the actuator at the start of printing is determined and stored from the detection result. At the start of printing, the drive voltage of the initial frequency is applied to the actuator to start driving the carriage. In the printer of the present invention, the initial frequency to be applied to the actuator at the start of printing is detected during the process in which the carriage moves from the home position. Therefore, the characteristics of the actuator can be detected in accordance with the actual usage of the printer. Done, and therefore no unnecessary movement of the carriage is required.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of an improved printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall schematic construction of the printer of this embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view of the paper feed section of the printer, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are of the paper feed section. Side views, FIGS. 6 and 7 are side views of the paper feeding unit in operation, and FIG.

The printer according to the present embodiment is of a type integrated with an automatic paper feeder, and has a paper feed unit, a paper feed unit, a paper discharge unit, a carriage unit, a cleaning unit, and a power transmission switching unit.

The paper feed unit 11 is attached to the main body side at an angle of 30 ° to 60 °, and the set recording sheet P is horizontally discharged after printing. The sheet feeding unit 11 includes a sheet feeding roller 5, a separating claw 17, a movable side guide 19, a base 20, a pressure plate 21, and drive gears 25 to 3.
0, release cam 31, claw spring 32, release lever 33,
It consists of a release cam 35 and the like. Since the release cam 31 normally pushes down the pressure plate 21 to the position shown in FIG. 6, the recording sheet P is separated from the paper feed roller 5.

With the recording sheet P set, the driving force of the conveying roller 36 is transmitted to the sheet feeding roller 5 and the release cam 31 via the gears 25 to 30. Release cam 3
When 1 is separated from the pressure plate 21, the pressure plate 21 rises to the position shown in FIG. 7, the paper feed roller 5 and the recording sheet P contact each other, are picked up as the paper feed roller 5 rotates, and are separated one by one by the separation claw 17. It The separated recording sheet P is sent to the paper feeding unit. The paper feed roller 5 and the release cam 31 rotate once until the recording sheet P is fed to the paper feed unit 11, and the drive from the paper feed roller 5 is cut off with the pressure plate 21 released to the paper feed roller 5 again. This initial state is retained.

In order to transmit the driving force to the paper feeding section 11,
After the drive switching arm 66, which will be described later, is moved by the carriage 50 in the direction of arrow A to switch the power transmission, the transport roller 36 is rotated in the forward direction to transmit the driving force via the planetary gear, which will be described later. The power transmission switching means will be described later.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the paper feeding unit 12. The paper feeding unit 12 includes a transport roller 36, a pinch roller 37, a pinch roller guide 39, a pinch roller spring 40, a PE sensor lever 41, a PE sensor 42, a PE sensor spring 43, an upper guide 45, a platen 46 and the like. The recording sheet P sent to the paper feeding unit 12 is conveyed by the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 3
7 roller pairs. A PE sensor lever 41 is provided in front of this roller pair, detects the leading edge of the recording sheet P, and obtains the print position on the recording sheet P. The pinch roller 37 is pressed against the conveying roller 36 by urging the pinch color guide 39 by the pinch roller spring 40, and generates the conveying force of the recording sheet P.
The recording sheet P sent by the roller pair 36, 37 advances along the platen 46 by the rotation of the roller pair 36, 37 by the LF motor 47, and the recording head 49.
By this, recording can be performed based on predetermined image information. The recording head 49 is formed integrally with the ink tank,
The inkjet recording head is easy to replace. The recording head 49 is provided with an electric exchanger, and ink is ejected from an ejection port to perform recording by utilizing a pressure change caused by growth and contraction of bubbles due to film boiling caused by applied thermal energy. An LF motor 47 that drives the conveying roller 36 and the like is an ultrasonic motor or a pulse motor that drives a predetermined amount according to a signal sent from a controller described later.
It is a rotary motor such as a DC motor. 80 is the LF motor 4
7 is a rotary encoder that detects the amount of rotation, and is fixed to the shaft of the motor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage unit 15 includes a carriage 50 on which the recording head 49 is mounted, a guide shaft 51 for reciprocally scanning the carriage 50 in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording sheet P, and ultrasonic vibrations. Oscillator 53, a rail 86 that is a counterpart member for generating the vibration energy of the oscillator 53 by friction, the recording head 49, and a flexible substrate for transmitting a drive signal from a controller described later to the ultrasonic oscillator 53. 57, etc. An image is formed on the recording sheet P conveyed on the platen 46 by scanning the recording head 49 integrally with the carriage 50. Transducer 53 and rail 8
Reference numeral 6 denotes a linear ultrasonic motor, and a vibrator 53
Is a running track type as shown in FIG. A piezoelectric element 85 is bonded to one surface of the elastic body 84, which is the main body of the vibrator 53, and a traveling wave is generated in the elastic body 84 by applying a two-phase AC voltage to the piezoelectric element 85. Driving force is generated by pressurizing one side A of the linear portion of the vibrator 53 to the rail 86,
The vibrator 53 is configured to move above. 8
Reference numeral 7 denotes a linear scale having slits at specific distances, and a photosensor (described later) attached to the carriage 50 optically reads the slits to detect the moving distance and moving speed of the carriage 50, and based on this detection information. The drive frequency of the linear ultrasonic motor is controlled by the control device described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper discharge section comprises a transmission roller 60 for transmitting the drive of the conveying roller 36 to the paper discharge roller 59, a spur 61 for assisting the paper discharge, and a paper discharge tray 62. The recording sheet P is ejected onto the paper ejection tray 62 by the paper ejection roller 59 and the spur 61 without staining the image.

The cleaning unit 16 includes a pump 63 for cleaning the recording head 49, a cap 65 for suppressing the drying of the recording head 49, and a driven gear described later for transmitting the driving force from the conveying roller 36 to the pump 63. And have.

Next, the outline of the power transmission switching mechanism of the printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

A sun gear 91 of a planetary gear mechanism, which constitutes a power transmission switching mechanism, is fixed to a tip end shaft 36a of a conveying roller 36 which is rotationally driven by an LF motor 47, and a planetary arm 92 of the planetary gear mechanism is connected to the shaft. It is loosely fitted relative to 36a. A friction member 93 is interposed between the end surface of the sun gear 91 and the end surface of the planet arm 92,
The planet arm 92 is frictionally coupled to the sun gear 91 via a friction member 93, and only when the load torque exceeding the frictional force between the friction member 93 and the sun gear 91 is applied to the sun gear 91 and the planet arm. 92 and 92 can rotate relative to each other. A shaft 9 is provided at one end of the planet arm 92.
A planetary gear 94, which is always meshed with the sun gear 91, is rotatably supported on the shaft 92b. When the sun gear 91 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 11, the planet arm 92 moves from the vertical position in FIG.
6a is rotated counterclockwise about the 6a to stop the planetary gear 94 at a position where it meshes with the feeder drive gear 96, and when the sun gear 91 is rotated clockwise in FIG. Axis 36 from the vertical position of 11
It rotates clockwise about a and stops when the planetary gear 94 meshes with the cleaning pump drive gear 96.

In FIG. 11, all of the driven mechanisms such as gears included in the paper feeding unit 11 are collectively shown by reference numeral 97, and the feed mechanism for transmitting the power of the LF motor 47 to the driven mechanism 97. The paper device drive gear 96 is the above-mentioned gear 25-
It shall be fixed to the same shaft as any of 30.
Further, the cleaning pump drive gear 98 is the pump 6
It is assumed to be fixed to the shaft of 3.

The other end of the planetary arm 92 is provided with a hole 92a through which the above-mentioned drive switching arm 66 is slidably inserted. The planetary arm 92 is in the vertical position (neutral position) shown in FIG. When the drive switch arm 66 is in the
The planet arm 92 is locked by being inserted into 2a.

The drive switching arm 66 has a vertical standing bent portion 66a which enters the movement path of the carriage 50, and is always leftward in FIG. 10 by the spring 95 (that is, the arm 66 is in the hole 92a of the planetary arm 92). Biased to be inserted inside).

When the printer is used and the printer is in a rest state, the planet arm 92 is returned to the neutral position as shown in FIG. 11, and the carriage 50 contacts the upright bent portion 66a of the drive switching arm 66. It is returned to the position P1 (that is, the home position) where it does not. Further, since the drive switching arm 66 is inserted into the hole 92a of the planetary arm 92, the planetary arm 92 is locked so that it cannot rotate about the shaft 36a.

Next, the drive control device for the ultrasonic actuator in the printer of the present invention will be outlined with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 100 denotes a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as a microcomputer) for controlling the vibrator 53 of the ultrasonic actuator, and 101 denotes a D / A which is an ultrasonic actuator drive signal issued from the microcomputer 100. A D / A converter for conversion, 102 is a voltage controlled oscillator (hereinafter abbreviated as VCO) that generates an output of a frequency corresponding to the output signal of the D / A converter, 103 and 1
Reference numeral 04 is a transformer for applying alternating voltages having different phases to the piezoelectric element 85 of the vibrator 53, and 105 is the transformer 104.
The phase shifter 106 for applying a voltage, which is phase-shifted by 90 degrees to the voltage applied to the transformer 104, to the transformer 104 is carried by the carriage 50, and the linear scale 87 described above is used.
A photo sensor such as a photo interrupter that generates a pulse signal in response to the slit of the photo sensor 107;
6, a speed detector for detecting the speed of the carriage 50 from the output signal of 6, a position detector 108 for detecting the instantaneous position of the carriage 50 from the output signal of the photosensor 106, 109
Is an LF motor control device for controlling the LF motor 47,
Is. The control of the LF motor 47 is performed by feeding back the output signal of the rotary encoder 80 connected to the motor 47 to the control device 109.

Next, among the operations of the printer of the present invention, main operations will be described with reference to FIGS.

It is assumed that the carriage 50 is stopped at the home position (that is, the position P1 in FIG. 10) before the printing is started. Immediately before the start of printing, the microcomputer 100 sets the carriage 50 to the sheet feeding device drive start position (drive switching position) P2.
A drive signal for driving the vibrator 53 is output to the D / A converter 101 in order to move the oscillator 53. At this time, the drive signal issued from the microcomputer 100 is a signal for sweeping the output of the VCO 102 from the specific frequency f _h (frequency shown in FIG. 15) to a gradually lower frequency, and the drive signal causes the transformers 103 and 104 to Alternating voltages having a phase difference of 90 degrees are applied to the piezoelectric element 85. As a result, the vibrator 53 is activated, and the carriage 50 starts moving from the home position P1 toward the right side in FIG. When the carriage 50 starts to move, the output signal of the photo sensor 106 that detects the slit of the linear scale 87 is input to the speed detector 107 and the position detector 108, and the carriage 50 is sent to the microcomputer 100 by the outputs of the both detectors. The speed and the instantaneous position information are input. From the relationship between the speed detection value and the frequency of the oscillator drive signal, the microcomputer 100
The drive characteristic of the ultrasonic actuator at that time is detected and the frequency is stored in a storage device in the microcomputer.

Since the carriage 50 is engaged with the upright bent portion 66a of the drive switching arm 66, the arm 66 is pulled out from the hole 92a of the planetary arm 92 by the carriage 50, and the carriage 50 is moved to the position P2 (feeding device drive). When the arm 66 reaches the start position), the arm 66 is completely pulled out from the hole 92a of the planetary arm 92, and the planetary arm 92 is unlocked. Then, the microcomputer 100 notifies the position detector 108 that the carriage 50 has reached the position P2.
The drive for the vibrator 53 is stopped when detected from the output signal of the carriage 50, so that the carriage 50 stops at the position P2.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of the control operation performed in the microcomputer 100 while the carriage 50 moves from the home position P1 to the sheet feeding device drive start position (or the print head recovery operation start position) P2. Each step of the flowchart will be described below.

STEP 1: Normally, the power is turned off after printing is completed.
In the FF state, since the carriage is moved to the home position and is in the standby state, the carriage is at the home position before printing is started.

STEP 2: The frequency is set to f _h shown in FIG. Here, f _h is a value that is as close to the resonance frequency as possible among the frequencies that satisfy that the carriage does not drive at a frequency higher than this in the vibration mode used for driving in any environment in which the printer is used. Select.

The phase difference of the applied voltage is set so that the driving direction is from the home position to the drive switching arm 66.

The ultrasonic actuator of the carriage is driven by applying a voltage of frequency f _h .

STEP 3: The current speed is obtained by measuring the pulse interval of the output signal of the photo sensor 106 in the speed detector 107 and compared with the target speed. Here, the target speed is a speed that is desired to be started before speed control is performed during actual driving.

If the target speed is not reached, STEP4
If reached, proceed to STEP5.

STEP 4: Lower the frequency by one step,
Try to get more speed. Go to STEP 3. "

STEP 5: The position of the carriage is obtained from the output signal of the photo sensor 106 by the position detector 108, and it is checked whether or not the carriage and the drive switching arm are at the target positions (positions for transmitting power to the paper feeding section).

If it is at the target position, the operation proceeds to STEP6, and if not, the operation of STEP5 is performed again.

STEP 6: The power supply to the ultrasonic actuator of the carriage is stopped and the current frequency is stored. This frequency becomes the initial frequency when the actual printing operation is performed.

STEP 7: A paper feeding operation is performed. (Starts the LF motor 47 in the forward rotation direction, for example) After the carriage 50 reaches the position P2 (sheet feeding device drive start position or print head recovery operation start position), the microcomputer 100 stops power supply to the vibrator 53. , The LF motor control device 109 activates the LF motor 47 to rotate the motor 47 in the forward rotation direction (in FIG.
Shaft 36a is rotated counterclockwise). As a result, the transport roller 36 and the sun gear 91 are rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 36a, so that the planet arm 92 is also rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 36a, and the planet gear 94 is rotated by the planetary gear 94. The rotation of the planetary arm 92 stops at the position where it meshes with 96, and at the same time the sun gear 9
The rotation of one feeds through the planetary gear 94 the paper feed device drive gear 96.
Then, the mechanism 97 of the sheet feeding section is driven by the power of the LF motor 47, and the sheet feeding operation is started. The operation amount of the mechanism 97 of the paper feeding unit is monitored by the LF motor control device 109 by the output of the rotary encoder 80.

After the paper feeding is completed, the LP motor 47 is rotated in the reverse direction,
The planetary arm 92 is rotated clockwise around the shaft 36a in FIG. 11, the meshing between the planetary gear 94 and the sheet feeding device drive gear 96 is broken, and this time the planetary gear 94 meshes with the cleaning pump drive gear 98. At the same time as the rotation of the planetary arm 92 is stopped at this point, the clockwise rotation of the sun gear 91 is transmitted to the gear 98 via the planetary gear 94, so that the cleaning pump 63 is driven by the power of the LF motor 47 to record. The head 49 is cleaned, that is, the ink head recovery operation is performed. After the cleaning, the microcomputer 100 activates the transducer 53 of the ultrasonic actuator of the carriage 50 to detect the above-mentioned frequency (detected when the carriage 50 moves from the position P1 to the position P2) to the piezoelectric element of the activator. By applying a voltage having a frequency determined based on the driving characteristic) as an initial signal, the ultrasonic actuator is driven to start printing.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 13 shows the control operation of the drive control device for the ultrasonic actuator in the printer of the second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the printer of this embodiment is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment except for the drive control device of the ultrasonic actuator, and therefore the mechanical structure and the electrical schematic structure were used in the first embodiment. The figures apply correspondingly and the illustration is omitted.

In the printer of this embodiment, the carriage 50
10 is different from the first embodiment in that the recovery operation (that is, cleaning) of the recording head 49 is performed prior to the paper feeding operation when moving from the position P1 to the position P2 in FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, when the carriage 50 reaches the position P2 in FIG. 10, the power supply to the ultrasonic actuator for driving the carriage is cut off, and the drive switching arm 6 is moved.
Since 6 is pulled out from the hole 92a of the planet arm 92, the restraint of the planet arm 92 is released. And LE motor 4
When 7 is reversed (clockwise in FIG. 11),
The planet arm 92 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 36a in FIG. 11, and when the planet gear 94 meshes with the cleaning pump drive gear 98, the rotation of the planet arm 92 is stopped, and at the same time, the sun gear 91 is rotated clockwise. Since the rotation is transmitted to the gear 98 via the planetary gear 94, the cleaning pump 63 is driven by the power of the LF motor 47, and the recording head 49 is cleaned. After the cleaning is completed, when the LF motor 47 is rotated in the normal direction, the planetary gear 94 is meshed with the sheet feeding device drive gear 96 in the same manner as described above, and the sheet feeding is performed.

After the completion of feeding, the microcomputer 100 applies a drive voltage having the stored frequency as an initial frequency to the piezoelectric element to activate the ultrasonic actuator, and the carriage 50.
Printing is performed while moving from the printing start position.

In each of the above embodiments, the linear ultrasonic actuator is used as the drive source for driving the carriage, but the printer uses a rotary ultrasonic actuator (ultrasonic motor). Of course, it is okay.

FIG. 14 shows a printer using a rotary ultrasonic actuator 88 as a drive source for driving the carriage 50. In the figure, 89 is a rotary encoder for detecting the rotation of the actuator 88, and 9 is a rotary encoder.
0 is a drive pulley which is rotationally driven by the actuator 88, 56 is an idle pulley, and 55 is the pulley 9
A belt wound around 0 and 56, and a part of the belt 55 is fixed to the carriage 50.
0 is movable by being pulled by the belt 55 and being guided by the guide shafts 51 and 52. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the printer described in the first and second embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted.

The rotary encoder 89 plays the same role as the photo sensor 106 (FIG. 12), the speed and the instantaneous position of the carriage 50 are detected from the output, and the ultrasonic actuator 88 in the microcomputer 100 (FIG. 12). Of the drive characteristic and control of the drive signal are performed.

As described above, in the printer of the present invention, the drive characteristic of the ultrasonic actuator is detected in the process from the home position until the carriage moves to the paper feed operation start position and the recording head recovery operation start position P2. By doing so, there is no need to make unnecessary movements in the carriage.

Since the moving distance for detecting the drive characteristic of the ultrasonic actuator is extremely short, even if the carriage is moving toward the position P2, it is apparently only an operation of switching the transmission of the drive force. Since the movement of the carriage at this time is not an unnecessary movement, there is no fear of making the entire operation of the printer redundant. Further, even when the environmental temperature or the like changes, the starting frequency of the ultrasonic actuator can be set to an appropriate value without using a temperature sensor.

The frequency sweep when detecting the characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator may be performed from the higher side to the lower side, or conversely, from the lower side to the higher side.

Further, what is important in the above embodiment is that
This is to prevent the carriage from reaching the drive switching position P2 while the characteristics are detected in STEP3 and STEP4. For that purpose, it is necessary to set the frequency f _h initially applied in STEP 2 and the magnitude of the frequency lowered in STEP 4 to appropriate values.

[0058]

As described above, in the printer of the present invention,
When the carriage moves from the home position to the paper feed operation start position and the recording head recovery operation start position (that is, the drive switching position) before the printing starts, the superposition at the start of printing is detected based on the detection result of the drive characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator. Since the frequency of the start signal to be applied to the sonic actuator is determined, even if the carriage is at the home position when the printer starts to be used, it is possible to determine the appropriate start frequency at the start of printing without causing unnecessary movement of the carriage. You can Further, since it is not necessary to make the carriage uselessly move, the entire operation of the printer does not become redundant. Further, even if the environmental temperature or the temperature of the ultrasonic actuator changes, the frequency of the start signal at the start of printing is determined based on the detection result of the drive characteristics immediately before the start of printing, so there is no need for a temperature sensor or the like. A proper activation signal can always be given.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing functions of a drive control device for a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a printer including a drive control device having the function of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a paper feed unit of the printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operation of the paper feeding unit.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the operation of the paper feeding unit.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a vibrator of a linear ultrasonic actuator.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the power transmission switching device and the carriage in the printer of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power transmission switching device in the printer of the present invention.

12 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive control device installed in the printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing functions of a drive control device for a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a printer configured to drive a carriage by a rotary ultrasonic actuator.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing drive characteristics of the ultrasonic actuator.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 ... Paper Feeding Roller 11 ... Paper Feeding Part 12 ... Paper Feeding Part 15 ... Carriage Part 16 ... Cleaning Part 17 ... Separation Claw 19 ... Movable Side Guide 20 ... Base 21 ... Pressure Plate 25-30 ... Gear 31 ... Release Cam 32 ... Claw Spring 33 ... Release lever 35 ... Release cam 36 ... Conveying roller 37 ... Pinch roller 39 ... Pinch roller guide 40 ... Pinch roller spring 41 ... PE sensor lever 42 ... PE sensor 43 ... PE sensor spring 45 ... Top guide 46 ... Platen 47 ... LF Motor 49 ... Recording head 50 ... Carriage 51, 52 ... Guide shaft 53 ... Transducer 55 ... Belt 56 ... Idle pulley 57 ... Flexible substrate 59 ... Paper ejection roller 60 ... Transmission roller 61 ... Spurs 62 ... Paper ejection tray 63 ... Pump 65 … Cap 66… Switching arm 80… Rotary encoder 8 Vibrating body 85 Piezoelectric element 86 Rail 87 Linear scale 88 Rotary ultrasonic motor 89 Rotary encoder 90 Drive pulley 91 Sun gear 92 Planetary arm 93 Friction member 94 Planetary gear 95 Spring 96 ... Paper feed device drive gear 97 ... Paper feed mechanism 98 ... Cleaning pump drive gear 100 ... Microcomputer 101 ... D / A converter 102 ... Voltage controlled oscillators 103, 104 ... Transformer 105 ... Phase shifter 106 ... Photo sensor 107 ... Speed detector 108 ... Position detector 109 ... LF motor control device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Hiroyuki Seki Inventor Hiroyuki Seki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A carriage carrying a print head, an ultrasonic actuator for driving the carriage, drive control means for controlling a drive signal applied to the ultrasonic actuator, and an automatic paper feeder. In the printer having, the drive control means detects the drive characteristic of the ultrasonic actuator in the process in which the carriage moves from the home position to the power transmission position for the automatic paper feeding device before printing is started, and the drive characteristic is detected. A printer configured to control a drive signal of the ultrasonic actuator at the start of printing based on the drive characteristics. 2. A carriage carrying a print head having an ink head, an ultrasonic actuator for driving the carriage, drive control means for controlling a drive signal applied to the ultrasonic actuator, and the ink. In an ink jet printer having an ink head recovery device for recovering the head, the drive control means is configured to control the drive control means in the process of moving the carriage from a home position to a power transmission position for the ink head recovery device before starting printing. A printer configured to detect a drive characteristic of an ultrasonic actuator and control a drive signal of the ultrasonic actuator at the start of printing based on the detected drive characteristic.