Motor control method in recording apparatus and recording apparatus

• US 20030067507A1
• Filed: 09/03/2002
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Anzai, Sumito
• Granted Patent: US 6,719,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/37
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 19/202 Drive control means for carriage movement
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/02 Providing protection against overload without automatic interruption of supply protection against faults of stepper motors H02P8/36

Abstract

A unit heat value Q_pass (=I_pass²·t_pass) per pass is calculated from a current value (an effective current value) I_pass of a carriage motor with one pass of a carriage (one-way running in a reciprocation) and a moving time (a motor driving time) t_pass of the carriage. Then, the unit heat value Q_pass is successively calculated to obtain a heat value Q_sigma for a unit time T_box(=one minute). The heat value Q_sigma is converted into a heat generation temperature ΔT_new. The heat generation temperature ΔT_new is successively added in consideration of a spontaneous radiation with the passage of time to obtain a current heat generation temperature ΔT_sum (ΔT_sum=K·ΔT_sum+ΔT_new; K is a radiation factor). When ΔT_sum exceeds a threshold, a pause time for one pass of the carriage is provided.

Claims

1. A motor control method in a recording apparatus comprising an electric motor to be driven based on a power supplied from power supply means, comprising the steps of:

successively obtaining a value related to a heat value based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

successively obtaining a value related to a heat storage amount of the electric motor in consideration of a radiation by using the value related to the heat value; and

controlling the electric motor to take a pause at an interval of a driving operation thereof based on the value related to the heat storage amount.

2. A motor control apparatus in a recording apparatus comprising an electric motor to be driven based on a power supplied from power supply means, comprising:

heat value acquiring means for successively obtaining a value related to a heat value based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

heat storage amount acquiring means for successively obtaining a value related to a heat storage amount of the electric motor in consideration of a radiation by using the value related to the heat value; and

pause control means for controlling the electric motor to take a pause at an interval of a driving operation thereof based on the value related to the heat storage amount.

3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electric motor is subjected to a speed control so as to move a moving member by one driving through speed setting in which an acceleration and deceleration area and a constant speed area are set, the recording apparatus comprises:

a memory for dividing a consumed current value per driving of the electric motor into a load current value depending on a load applied to the electric motor when moving the moving member and a fixed current value corresponding to an inertia portion when accelerating and decelerating the moving member and for storing the fixed current value which is previously obtained;

current measuring means for measuring a current in the constant speed area, thereby obtaining a current measured value; and

calculating means for calculating a consumed current value per driving by using a load current value determined based on the current measured value in the constant speed area and the fixed current value stored in the memory, and

wherein the heat value acquiring means obtains the value related to the heat value by using the consumed current value per driving.

4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an operation for calculating the value related to the heat storage amount uses a radiation factor determined by a time constant of a radiation system with the passage of time.

5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising deciding means for deciding whether the radiation system is a heat generation system for carrying out a radiation with heat generation or a radiation system for carrying out the radiation without the heat generation,

wherein a radiation factor corresponding to the system decided by the deciding means being selected to carry out the operation.

6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the deciding means counts the number of movements of a carriage to be driven by the electric motor and decides a system for determining the radiation factor based on the number of the movements of the carriage thus counted.

7. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a memory for storing an added value obtained immediately before a power supply is turned OFF,

wherein the added value stored in the memory when the power supply is turned ON being read and used as an initial value.

8. A motor control apparatus in a recording apparatus comprising an electric motor to be driven based on a power supplied from power supply means, comprising:

heat value acquiring means for obtaining a value related to a heat value based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

heat storage amount acquiring means for obtaining a value related to a last heat storage amount in consideration of a radiation by using the value related to the heat value and for adding a value related to a heat value obtained next time by the heat value acquiring means to the value related to the last heat storage amount, thereby obtaining a value related to a present heat storage amount; and

pause control means for controlling the electric motor to take a pause at an interval of a driving operation thereof based on the value related to the present heat storage amount.

9. A motor control apparatus in a recording apparatus comprising an electric motor to be driven based on a power supplied from power supply means, comprising:

heat value acquiring means for obtaining a heat value based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

adding means for obtaining an added value of the heat value with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time; and

pause control means for controlling the electric motor to take a pause at an interval of a driving operation thereof when the added value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of predetermined thresholds are provided, and when the added value exceeds at least one of the thresholds, the pause control means controls the electric motor to take a pause for a pause time corresponding to the exceeded threshold at an interval of a driving operation of the electric motor.

11. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the electric motor is subjected to a speed control so as to move a moving member by one driving through speed setting in which an acceleration and deceleration area and a constant speed area are set, the recording apparatus comprise:

a memory for dividing a consumed current value per driving of the electric motor into a load current value depending on a load applied to the electric motor when moving the moving member and a fixed current value corresponding to an inertia portion when accelerating and decelerating the moving member and for storing the fixed current value which is previously obtained;

current measuring means for measuring a current in the constant speed area, thereby obtaining a current measured value; and

calculating means for calculating a consumed current value per driving by using a load current value determined based on the current measured value in the constant speed area and the fixed current value stored in the memory, and

wherein the heat value acquiring means obtains a value related to the heat value by using the consumed current value per driving.

12. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the correcting operation is an operation using a radiation factor determined by a time constant of a radiation system with the passage of time.

13. The recording apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising deciding means for deciding whether the radiation system is a heat generation system for carrying out a radiation with heat generation and a radiation system for carrying out the radiation without the heat generation,

wherein a radiation factor corresponding to the system decided by the deciding means is selected to carry out the correcting operation.

14. The recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the deciding means counts the number of movements of a carriage to be driven by the electric motor and decides a system for determining the radiation factor based on the number of the movements of the carriage thus counted.

15. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a memory for storing the added value obtained immediately before a power supply is turned OFF,

wherein the added value stored in the memory when the power supply is turned ON being read and used as an initial value.

16. A motor control apparatus in a recording apparatus comprising an electric motor to be driven based on a power supplied from power supply means, comprising:

heat generation temperature estimating means for obtaining a value related to a heat value based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor and for adding the value related to the heat value with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation, thereby estimating a value related to a heat generation temperature of the electric motor based on the added value,

wherein the electric motor is controlled to take a pause at an interval of a driving operation when the value related to the heat generation temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold.

17. A serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage including a recording head is reciprocated in a main scanning direction, thereby carrying out recording over a recording medium by the recording head, comprising:

an electric motor to be driven for reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction;

heat value acquiring means for calculating a heat value per unit time based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor; and

pause control means for successively adding the heat value per unit time with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time to obtain an added value and for controlling the electric motor to take a pause time during an inversion of a movement of the carriage when the added value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

18. A serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage including a recording head is reciprocated in a main scanning direction, thereby carrying out recording over a recording medium by the recording head, comprising:

an electric motor to be driven for reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction;

unit heat value acquiring means for calculating a unit heat value per pass of the carriage based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

heat value acquiring means for successively adding the unit heat value to obtain a heat value per unit time; and

pause control means for successively adding the heat value per unit time with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time to obtain an added value and for controlling the electric motor to take a pause time at an interval between passes of the carriage when the added value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

19. A serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage having a recording head is reciprocated in a main scanning direction, thereby carrying out recording over a recording medium by the recording head, comprising:

an electric motor to be driven for reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction;

heat value acquiring means for calculating a heat value per unit time based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor; and

temperature estimating means for successively adding the heat value per unit time with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time to obtain an added value and for estimating a heat generation temperature of the electric motor based on the added value.

20. A serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage having a recording head is reciprocated in a main scanning direction, thereby carrying out recording over a recording medium by the recording head, comprising:

an electric motor to be driven for reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction;

unit heat value acquiring means for calculating a unit heat value per pass of the carriage based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

heat value acquiring means for successively adding the unit heat value to obtain a heat value per unit time; and

temperature estimating means for successively adding the heat value per unit time with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time to obtain an added value and for estimating a heat generation temperature of the electric motor based on the added value.

21. A serial type recording apparatus in which a carriage having a recording head is reciprocated in a main scanning direction, thereby carrying out recording over a recording medium by the recording head, comprising:

an electric motor to be driven for reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction;

unit heat value acquiring means for calculating a unit heat value per pass of the carriage based on a consumed current and a driving time of the electric motor;

heat value acquiring means for successively adding the unit heat value to obtain a heat value per unit time; and

heat generation abnormality deciding means for deciding a heat generation abnormality when an added value obtained by successively adding the heat value per unit time with a correcting operation in consideration of a radiation with the passage of time exceeds a predetermined threshold.