JP2008018548A - Inkjet printer and control method of conveyance motor thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyance motor such as a PF motor 5 that may be driven in synchronization with another motor 6 is allowed to wait without hindering the repeated driving.
An inkjet printer 1 includes a conveyance motor 5 that is used to convey a print medium, a carriage motor 11 that is used to drive a carriage 10, and a heat generation or heat storage of the conveyance motor 5 that exceeds a predetermined level. And a printing control means 54 that calculates a pause time corresponding to the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor 5 and starts driving the carriage motor 11 after waiting for the pause time to elapse.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printer and a method for controlling a conveyance motor thereof.

  Patent Document 1 calculates a unit heat generation amount per pass from a current value (execution current value) of the carriage motor when the carriage makes one pass and a moving time of the carriage, obtains a current heat generation temperature, and calculates a plurality of threshold values. An ink jet recording apparatus for comparison is disclosed. Then, the ink jet recording apparatus pauses at a pause time associated with a threshold value at which the current heat generation temperature exceeds in the pause time table, and then starts an operation of a predetermined pass.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-79179 (abstract, claims, detailed description of the invention, especially paragraph 0105, FIGS. 15 to 19)

  When the carriage motor is driven, other motors of the ink jet printer, for example, the PF (paper feed) motor and the ASF (auto sheet feed) motor are stopped. Therefore, when the carriage motor starts to be driven, even if a pause time is provided to cool it, the printing operation is not hindered. On the other hand, when the PF motor is driven, for example, when feeding paper, the ASF motor may be driven with time. At this time, the PF motor needs to be driven in synchronization with the driving of the ASF motor or the like. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a pause time for a conveyance motor such as a PF motor using the technique of Patent Document 1.

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer that can make a transport motor such as a PF motor that may be driven in synchronization with other motors wait without interfering with the driving that overlaps the timing, and a control method for the transport motor. The purpose is to obtain.

  The ink jet printer according to the present invention includes a transport motor used for transporting a print medium, a carriage motor used for driving a carriage, and the heat generated or stored in the transport motor at a predetermined level or more. And a printing control means for calculating a pause time corresponding to heat generation or heat storage and starting driving of the carriage motor after waiting for the pause time to elapse.

  If this configuration is employed, when driving of the carriage motor is started, the carriage motor is stopped for a pause time corresponding to heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor. Even if the transport motor is driven at the same time as other motors, the transport motor can be made to wait without disturbing the synchronous drive at the same time.

  Another ink jet printer according to the present invention includes a transport motor that is used to transport a print medium, a carriage motor that is used to drive a carriage, a heat storage calculation unit that calculates a value related to a heat storage amount of the transport motor, and a transport motor. A pause time rate table having pause rate data associated with a predetermined value range for a value related to the amount of heat storage, storage means for storing the previous drive time of the carry motor, and conveyance calculated by the heat accumulation calculation means When the value related to the heat storage amount of the motor is within the range of the predetermined value of the pause time ratio table, the previous drive time of the transport motor stored in the storage means and the range of the corresponding predetermined value in the pause time ratio table Is calculated based on the pause rate data associated with the And print control means for starting the driving of the motor, and has a.

  If this configuration is adopted, when driving of the carriage motor is started, a pause time corresponding to the heat generation or heat storage up to that time of the conveyance motor is calculated and paused. Even when the transport motor is driven at the same time as other motors, the transport motor can be kept waiting without interfering with synchronous driving at the same time. In addition, the pause time can be calculated in the middle of printing to make it wait as long as necessary.

  Another inkjet printer according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described configuration of the invention. That is, when the heat storage level of the transport motor determined by the value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor is higher than the heat storage level of the carriage motor, the print control unit calculates a rest time based on the previous drive time of the transport motor and Wait for the passage of time. In the opposite case, the print control means calculates a pause time based on the previous drive time of the carriage motor and waits for the pause time to elapse.

  If this configuration is adopted, when driving of the carriage motor is started, the longer one of the pause time for waiting the carriage motor and the pause time for waiting the conveyance motor is secured. With one pause operation, the carriage motor and the transport motor can be kept waiting for the time required by them.

  Another ink jet printer according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the present invention. That is, the print control unit waits for a pause time when the heat storage level of the transport motor determined by the value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor is lower than the predetermined level and the heat storage level of the carriage motor is lower than the predetermined level. Start driving the carriage motor.

  By adopting this configuration, when neither the conveyance motor nor the carriage motor needs to be stopped, the stop time is not set. Therefore, the ink jet printer can perform printing at the original printing speed.

  Another ink jet printer according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the present invention. That is, the heat storage calculating means calculates a value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor from a value related to the instantaneous heat generation amount of the transport motor calculated based on the drive speed of the transport motor.

  The driving speed of the transport motor is detected for detecting the transport distance and transport speed of the print medium. Therefore, if this configuration is adopted, there is no need to separately add a dedicated sensor or the like for detecting the temperature of the transport motor.

  Another ink jet printer according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the above-described components of the present invention. In other words, the other conveyance motors are driven independently of the other conveyance motors that are driven at the same time as the conveyance motors during conveyance of the print medium, and the first conveyance control unit that controls the drive of the conveyance motors during the paper feeding operation. And a second transport control means for controlling the driving of.

  If this configuration is adopted, the transport motor and the other transport motor are driven simultaneously during the paper feeding operation. And it can rest by the rest time which a conveyance motor requires, without preventing this synchronous operation.

  The transport motor control method according to the present invention is a transport motor control method used for transporting a print medium in an inkjet printer. Then, when controlling the driving of the carriage motor different from the conveyance motor, it is determined whether the heat generation or the heat storage of the conveyance motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. In addition, when the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, a pause time corresponding to the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor is calculated. Also, after the calculated pause time has elapsed, the carriage motor starts to be driven.

  If this method is adopted, when the carriage motor starts to be driven, the carriage motor is stopped for a pause time corresponding to the heat generation or heat storage of the conveyance motor. Even when the transport motor is driven at the same time as another motor, the transport motor can be stopped without interfering with the synchronous driving at the same time.

  Hereinafter, an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method for controlling the transport motor will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a PF (paper feed) motor as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ink jet printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet printer 1 includes an LD (retard) roller 2, a PF roller 3, and a paper discharge roller 4. The PF roller 3 and the paper discharge roller 4 are rotationally driven by a PF motor 5 as a transport motor. The LD roller 2 is rotationally driven by an ASF motor 6 as another transport motor. When both the LD roller 2 and the PF roller 3 are rotationally driven, a sheet as a printing medium existing on the sheet feeding tray 7 is supplied to a printing position on the platen 8. The paper at the paper feed position is discharged to the paper discharge tray 9 by rotating the paper discharge roller 4 and the like. Hereinafter, the paper feeding direction is referred to as a sub-scanning direction, and a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction is referred to as a main scanning direction.

  The ink jet printer 1 has a carriage 10. A recording head (not shown) for ejecting ink is provided on the carriage 10 on the platen 8 side. The carriage 10 moves on the platen 8 in the main scanning direction by driving a CR (carriage) motor 11.

  The ink jet printer 1 detects a moving speed of the carriage 10, a motor driver 21 that drives the PF motor 5, ASF motor 6, CR motor 11, and the like, a first rotary encoder 22 that detects the sheet conveyance speed by the PF roller 3, and the carriage 10. And the second rotary encoder 24 that detects the rotational speed of the ASF motor 6, the ASIC 25 that is a kind of microcomputer, and the microcomputer 26.

  The microcomputer 26 includes a memory 31 and a timer 32 as storage means. The memory 31 stores final drive time data 41, 42, 43 for each motor, heat storage data 44, 45, 46 for each motor, and pause time ratio tables 47, 48, 49 for each motor. When the central processing unit (not shown) of the microcomputer 26 executes the program, the main control unit 51, the instantaneous heat generation calculation unit 52, the heat storage update unit 53 as the heat storage calculation unit, the print control unit 54 as the print control unit, the first conveyance A PF control unit 55 as a control unit and an ASF control unit 56 as a second transport control unit are realized.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the PF pause time ratio table 48 in FIG. The PF pause time ratio table 48 has a range of heat storage values and pause ratio data for each heat storage level. Note that the ASF downtime ratio table 47 and the CR downtime ratio table 49 also have a range of stored heat values and outage ratio data for each heat storage level with the same data structure.

  Next, the operation of the inkjet printer 1 having the above configuration will be described. When the power is turned on, the configuration of FIG. 1 is realized in the inkjet printer 1.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of main control executed by the main control unit 51 in FIG. First, the main control unit 51 performs an initialization process (step ST1). In the initialization process, the main control unit 51 instructs the instantaneous heat generation calculation unit 52 and the heat storage update unit 53 to start up.

  The instantaneous heat generation calculating unit 52 executes a process for measuring the instantaneous heat generation value of each motor each time a predetermined measurement time (for example, several tens of milliseconds) is measured by the timer 32. For example, the instantaneous heat generation calculation unit 52 calculates the rotation speed of the PF motor 5 from the sheet conveyance speed based on the first rotary encoder 22 read from the ASIC 25, and calculates the instantaneous heat generation amount of the PF motor 5 from the rotation speed. . The instantaneous heat generation calculating unit 52 calculates the rotational speed of the CR motor 11 from the moving speed of the carriage 10 based on the linear encoder 23, and calculates the instantaneous heat generation amount of the CR motor 11 from the rotational speed. The instantaneous heat generation calculation unit 52 calculates the instantaneous heat generation amount of the ASF motor 6 from the rotational speed of the ASF motor 6 based on the second rotary encoder 24.

  The heat storage update unit 53 calculates a cumulative heat storage value of each motor each time a predetermined update time (for example, 60 seconds) is measured by the timer 32, and updates the heat storage data 44, 45, 46 of each motor. . For example, the heat storage update unit 53 integrates a plurality of heat generation values accumulated in the memory 31 after the previous heat storage update for the PF motor 5 to calculate the total heat generation value of the section of the PF motor 5 and calculates the heat storage calculated last time. A new heat storage value of the PF motor 5 is calculated by multiplying the value by a predetermined heat dissipation coefficient (for example, 0.93) and adding them. The heat storage update unit 53 calculates a new heat storage value of the ASF motor 6 and a new heat storage value of the CR motor 11 by the same calculation process. Thereby, the ASF heat storage data 44, the PF heat storage data 45, and the CR heat storage data 46 stored in the memory 31 of the microcomputer 26 are updated to the latest heat storage value every predetermined update time.

  When the instant heat generation calculation unit 52 and the heat storage update unit 53 are instructed to start and the initialization process is completed, the main control unit 51 waits for print data. When the ink jet printer receives print data from a personal computer (not shown), the main control unit 51 starts print processing. The main control unit 51 determines a paper feeding operation as a control operation to be executed next (step ST2), and instructs the PF control unit 55 and the ASF control unit 56 to perform the paper feeding operation (step ST3).

  When a paper feed operation is instructed, the PF control unit 55 reads PF paper feed control data (not shown) from the memory 31 and supplies a control target value to the ASIC 25 at predetermined time intervals. The ASIC 25 compares the control target value supplied by a DC unit (not shown) with the speed detected by the first rotary encoder 22. The ASIC 25 outputs a command value by PID control or the like based on this comparison to the motor driver 21. The motor driver 21 drives the PF motor 5 to rotate.

  Similarly, when a paper feed operation is instructed, the ASF controller 56 reads ASF paper feed control data (not shown) from the memory 31 and supplies the control target value to the ASIC 25. The ASIC 25 outputs a command value to the motor driver 21, and the motor driver 21 rotationally drives the ASF motor 6. Thereby, the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 are rotationally driven by independent and independent control by the PF control unit 55 and the ASF control unit 56. The paper on the paper feed tray 7 is conveyed to the printing position.

  When the above sheet feeding operation is completed, the PF control unit 55 and the ASF control unit 56 end the sheet feeding drive. The PF control unit 55 updates the PF final drive time data (the previous drive control time of the transport motor) 42 in the memory 31 with the drive time of the PF motor 5 in this paper feed control. The ASF control unit 56 updates the ASF final drive time data 43 in the memory 31 with the drive time of the ASF motor 6 in this paper feed control. As shown in FIG. 3, the main control unit 51 determines that the inkjet printer 1 is in a stopped state (Yes in step ST4), determines a printing operation as a control operation to be executed next (step ST2), and performs printing control. The printing operation is instructed to the section 54 (step ST3). When the main control unit 51 cannot determine that the inkjet printer 1 is in a stopped state (No in step ST4), the main control unit 51 repeats the determination.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of print control executed by the print control unit 54 in FIG. First, the print control unit 54 reads the heat storage data 44, 45, 46 and the downtime ratio tables 47, 48, 49 of each motor from the memory 31, and determines the heat storage level of each motor (step ST11). For example, the print control unit 54 compares the range of each heat storage level in the PF pause time ratio table 48 shown in FIG. 2 with the value of the PF heat storage data 45 to determine the heat storage level.

  After determining the heat storage level of each motor, the print control unit 54 specifies the highest heat storage level among them (step ST12). For example, when the heat storage level of the PF motor 5 is “2” and the heat storage levels of the other motors are “1”, the heat storage level “2” of the PF motor 5 is specified as the maximum heat storage level.

  After specifying the maximum heat storage level, the print controller 54 determines whether or not the suspension control for cooling is necessary based on the maximum heat storage level (step ST13). When the maximum heat storage level is “0”, that is, when the heat storage level of all the motors is lower than the lowest heat storage level of the respective pause time ratio tables 47, 48, and 49, the print control unit 54 determines that the pause is unnecessary (ST13). No). The print control unit 54 starts control of a print operation described later (step ST17). In other cases, the print control unit 54 determines that a pause is necessary, and executes a significant pause time setting process (Yes in ST13).

  If it is determined that the pause is necessary, the print control unit 54 reads the pause rate data corresponding to the specified maximum heat storage level from the pause time rate tables 47, 48, and 49 corresponding to the motor for which the maximum heat storage level is determined. For example, when the maximum heat storage level is “2” of the PF motor 5, the print control unit 54 reads the pause rate “20 (%)” in FIG. 2 (step ST14). Subsequently, the print control unit 54 reads the final drive time data 42 of the motor having the specified maximum heat storage level, and multiplies them to calculate the pause time (step ST15). Then, the print controller 54 refers to the timer 32 and waits for the calculated pause time to elapse (step ST16). When the pause time elapses, the print control unit 54 starts control of the print operation instructed by the main control unit 51 (step ST17).

  In the control of the printing operation, the print control unit 54 drives the CR motor 11. By driving the CR motor 11, the carriage 10 moves along a predetermined speed table in the main scanning direction. The recording head of the carriage 10 ejects ink based on the print data. As a result, ink adheres to the portion of the paper being fed to the printing position. When printing is completed, the print controller 54 updates the CR final drive time data 43 in the memory 31 with the drive time of the CR motor 11 in this print control (step ST18).

  When the above print control by the print control unit 54 is completed, as shown in FIG. 3, the main control unit 51 determines that the inkjet printer 1 is in a stopped state (Yes in step ST4), and performs the control operation to be executed next. Is determined (step ST2), and the PF control unit 55 is instructed to perform the sheet feeding operation (step ST3). The PF control unit 55 drives the PF motor 5 and executes paper feed control. As a result, the paper fed to the printing position is sent with a predetermined width. Further, the PF control unit 55 updates the PF final drive time data 42 with the drive time of the PF motor 5 in the paper feeding operation.

  In step ST <b> 2 of FIG. 3, the main control unit 51 performs a control operation to be executed next when the paper feeding operation is completed until, for example, the print data ends or the trailing edge of the paper passes the printing position. When the printing operation is completed, the paper feeding operation is determined as the control operation to be executed next. As a result, the paper fed to the printing position is fed by a predetermined width, and ink adheres every time the paper is fed. An image based on the print data is printed on the paper fed to the printing position. Further, the print control unit 54 executes the process shown in FIG. 4 each time a print operation is instructed, and waits for a pause time according to the maximum heat storage level determined at the time of execution as necessary (steps ST13 to ST16). Then, print control is executed (step ST17). Further, the print control unit 54 updates the CR final drive time data 43 with the drive time of the CR motor 11 (step ST18).

  When the print data ends or the trailing edge of the paper passes the printing position, the main control unit 51 determines a paper discharge operation as a control operation to be executed next in step ST2 of FIG. The controller 55 is instructed to perform a paper discharge operation. The PF control unit 55 drives the PF motor 5 and executes paper discharge control. As a result, the sheet fed to the printing position is discharged to the discharge tray 9. Further, the PF control unit 55 updates the PF final drive time data 42 with the drive time of the PF motor 5.

  The above description of the operation has been described by taking an example of printing on one sheet. In addition, the inkjet printer 1 can continuously print on a plurality of sheets placed on the paper feed tray 7. In the case of continuously printing on a plurality of sheets, the inkjet printer 1 basically only needs to repeat, for example, the above-described printing sequence for each sheet.

  In addition, in the continuous printing, the main control unit 51 may instruct the paper supply / discharge operation instead of the instruction of the paper discharge operation and the subsequent paper supply operation. In this case, the main control unit 51 instructs the PF control unit 55 and the ASF control unit 56 to perform a paper supply / discharge operation. The PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 are driven. As a result, the sheet at the printing position is discharged to the discharge tray 9 and the next unprinted sheet is fed from the sheet feeding tray 7 to the printing position. Further, the PF control unit 55 updates the PF final drive time data 42 in the memory 31 with the drive time of the PF motor 5 in this paper supply / discharge control. The ASF control unit 56 updates the ASF final drive time data 41 in the memory 31 with the drive time of the ASF motor 6 in this paper supply / discharge control.

  As described above, in the inkjet printer 1 according to this embodiment, the PF motor 5 is driven in the paper feeding operation, the paper feeding operation, the paper discharging operation, and the paper feeding and discharging operation. The PF final drive time data 42 is updated each time this drive is performed. Further, the ASF motor 6 is driven in the paper feeding operation and the paper feeding / discharging operation, and the ASF final drive time data 41 is updated each time this drive is performed. Further, the CR motor 11 is driven in the printing operation, and the CR final drive time data 43 is updated each time it is driven. The print control unit 54 determines the highest heat storage level among these motors 5, 6 and 11, calculates the pause time based on the paper feed ratio according to the highest heat storage level, and the pause time has elapsed. The control of a predetermined printing operation instructed by the main control unit 51 is executed.

  FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the inkjet printer 1 during a certain period. 5A shows the rotation speed of the PF motor 5, FIG. 5B shows the temperature of the PF motor 5, FIG. 5C shows the rotation speed of the CR motor 11, and FIG. This is the heat storage value of the PF motor 5. The horizontal axis is time. As shown in FIG. 5, the temperature of the PF motor 5 rises every time the PF motor 5 rotates. Further, when the PF motor 5 is stopped, it is cooled by heat dissipation and decreases. The heat storage value of the PF motor 5 increases or decreases in accordance with the increase / decrease of the temperature of the PF motor 5.

  And as shown in the update period of the 3rd step of Drawing 5 (D), when the thermal storage value of PF motor 5 becomes more than the lower limit "40" of thermal storage level 1, and it is the highest thermal storage level, a printing control part 54 calculates a significant pause time using the pause rate “10 (%)” in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5C, the print control unit 54 waits for the pause time to elapse before starting control of the print operation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, thereafter, the drive control of the PF motor 5 by the PF control unit 55 is started with a delay corresponding to the pause time.

  As a result, the total driving time of the PF motor 5 in the third stage update period is shorter than that in the second stage, for example. An increase in temperature of the PF motor 5 is suppressed, and an increase in the value of the PF heat storage data 45 is also suppressed. In the fourth stage in FIG. 5D, the heat storage value of the PF motor 5 is maintained at the same value as in the third stage. That is, the temperature rise of the PF motor 5 is suppressed. In addition, when such rest control is not performed, the heat storage value of the PF motor 5 increases to a value higher than the third stage as shown by the dotted line of the fourth stage in FIG. . The temperature and heat storage value of the PF motor 5 become higher as the drive time becomes longer. As in this embodiment, overheating of the PF motor 5 can be prevented by providing a pause time for cooling the PF motor 5 during the printing operation.

  The PF motor 5 is driven over time with the ASF motor 6 in a paper feeding operation, a paper feeding operation, and the like. That is, the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 are driven synchronously by the respective control units 55 and 56. In such a case, if the PF control unit 55 calculates the pause time and waits for the elapsed time, desired synchronization between the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 is not ensured, and a correct paper feeding operation can be performed. Disappear. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the rest time of the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 is secured when the CR motor 11 is driven. At this time, the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 are not driven. Therefore, the downtime for cooling the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6 is ensured without disturbing the synchronous operation of the PF motor 5 and the ASF motor 6.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the heat generation values of the motors 5, 6 and 11 are periodically calculated during printing, and during the printing operation, the pause time is determined based on the heat generation values, and paper is fed. The printing operation is basically executed alternately with the driving of the transport motor such as the PF motor 5 during printing. Therefore, during the printing control, it is possible to secure a necessary downtime according to the heat generation of the PF motor 5 or the like corresponding to the printing stage.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram when the heat storage value of the PF motor 5 reaches the maximum heat storage level. In addition to this, when the heat storage value of the CR motor 11 reaches the maximum heat storage level, the heat storage value of the ASF motor 6 sometimes reaches the maximum heat storage level. Even in these cases, the print control unit 54 ensures the rest time of the motor that is determined to be the maximum heat storage level from time to time. The PF motor 5, the ASF motor 6, and the CR motor 11 are cooled by this one downtime. As a result, the print control unit 54 provides a pause time so as to cool not only the PF motor 5 but also the CR motor 11 and the ASF motor 6, and prevents the overheating of all these motors by the pause time.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the effect of setting the rest time based on the rest time ratio tables 47, 48, and 49. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis is time, and the vertical axis is the heat storage value. The heat storage value increases or decreases in conjunction with the temperature of the motors 5, 6, and 11. When no downtime is provided, the temperatures and heat storage values of the motors 5, 6, 11 continue to rise, as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 6. When no downtime is provided, there is a limit to the period during which continuous operation is possible.

  On the other hand, when the downtime is provided, the heat storage value rises only to the heat storage level “2”, for example, as illustrated by the solid line in FIG. The inkjet printer 1 can continuously print beyond the limit period when no downtime is provided. The motors 5, 6 and 11 can be continuously printed for a long time without burning out due to overheating.

  In this embodiment, the sheet feeding ratio is associated with a predetermined heat storage value or more in each pause time ratio table 47, 48, 49. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the PF pause time ratio table 48, the sheet feeding ratio is associated with a heat storage value “40” or more. Therefore, when the values of the heat storage data 44, 45, 46 corresponding to all the motors 5, 6, 11 are smaller than the lower limit value, the pause time is not set. During this time, the inkjet printer 1 can perform printing at the original printing speed.

  In the above embodiment, the instantaneous heat generation calculation unit 52 calculates the instantaneous heat generation value in the measurement period of the PF motor 5 from the instantaneous conveyance speed based on the detection of the first rotary encoder 22. The first rotary encoder 22 is substantially essential in the inkjet printer 1 in order to detect the sheet conveyance distance and conveyance speed. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a dedicated sensor for detecting the temperature and current of the PF motor 5 separately.

  The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there. For example, in the above embodiment, the temperature increase of the PF motor 5, the ASF motor 6, and the CR motor 11 is controlled. In addition to this, for example, the temperature of various motors such as an ASF sub-motor for bringing the paper on the paper feed tray 7 into contact with the LD roller 2 during paper feeding and a suction motor for sucking ink from the carriage 10 are controlled in combination. It may be. Further, for example, the temperature increase of the two motors may be controlled such that only the PF motor 5 and the CR motor 11 are used.

  In the above embodiment, the print control unit 54 calculates the pause time from the heat storage data 44, 45, 46 corresponding to the motors 5, 6, 11 of the inkjet printer 1 and waits for the pause time to elapse. In addition to this, for example, the main control unit 51 calculates a pause time from the heat storage data 44, 45, 46 corresponding to each of the motors 5, 6, 11, and waits for the pause time to elapse. May be instructed. Even in this case, a sufficient pause time required by the three motors 5, 6, and 11 can be secured and the temperatures of the PF motor 5, the CR motor 11, and the ASF motor 6 can be controlled.

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

1 is a configuration diagram of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the PF rest time ratio table in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the main control which the main control part in FIG. 1 performs. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of print control executed by a print control unit in FIG. 1. It is a timing chart which shows operation | movement of a certain period of an inkjet printer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the setting effect of the rest time based on a rest time ratio table.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 5 PF motor (conveyance motor), 6 ASF motor (other conveyance motor), 10 Carriage, 11 Carriage motor (CR motor), 31 Memory (storage means), 42 PF final drive time data (conveyance motor Previous drive control time), 47 ASF downtime ratio table (outage time ratio table), 48 PF downtime ratio table (outage time ratio table), 49 CR downtime ratio table (outage time ratio table), 53 heat storage update unit (Heat storage calculation means), 54 print control section (print control means), 55 PF control section (first transport control means), 56 ASF control section (second transport control means)

Claims (7)

A transport motor used to transport print media;
A carriage motor used to drive the carriage;
When the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor is above a predetermined level, the printing is performed to calculate the pause time corresponding to the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor and wait for the pause time to elapse before starting to drive the carriage motor. Control means;
An inkjet printer characterized by comprising: A transport motor used to transport print media;
A carriage motor used to drive the carriage;
Heat storage calculating means for calculating a value related to the heat storage amount of the conveyance motor;
A pause time ratio table having pause ratio data associated with a range of a predetermined value for a value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor, and storage means for storing the previous drive time of the transport motor;
When the value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor calculated by the heat storage calculation means is within the range of the predetermined value of the pause time ratio table, the previous drive time of the transport motor stored in the storage means The pause time is calculated based on the pause rate data associated with the corresponding predetermined value range in the pause time rate table, and after the pause time has elapsed, the carriage motor is driven. Printing control means to start;
An inkjet printer characterized by comprising:   The print control means calculates a pause time based on the previous drive time of the transport motor when the heat storage level of the transport motor determined by a value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor is higher than the heat storage level of the carriage motor. 3. The process according to claim 2, further comprising waiting for the elapse of the pause time, and in the opposite case, calculating a pause time based on the previous drive time of the carriage motor and waiting for the pause time to elapse. Inkjet printer.   The printing control means sets a pause time when the heat storage level of the transport motor determined by a value related to the heat storage amount of the transport motor is lower than a predetermined level and the heat storage level of the carriage motor is lower than a predetermined level. 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 2, wherein driving of the carriage motor is started without waiting.   The heat storage calculating means calculates a value related to a heat storage amount of the transport motor from a value related to an instantaneous heat generation amount of the transport motor calculated based on a driving speed of the transport motor. The inkjet printer according to any one of 2 to 4. In the conveyance of the print medium, another conveyance motor that is driven at the same time as the conveyance motor, and
A second transport control means for controlling the drive of the other transport motor independently of the first transport control means for controlling the drive of the transport motor during a paper feeding operation;
The ink jet printer according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet printer includes: A method for controlling a conveyance motor used for conveying a print medium in an inkjet printer,
A step of determining whether or not heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined level when controlling driving of a carriage motor that is a motor different from the transport motor;
When the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, calculating a pause time according to the heat generation or heat storage of the transport motor;
Starting the driving of the carriage motor after the calculated pause time has elapsed;
A method for controlling a conveyance motor, comprising:

Images