Pump control mechanism, printer using the same and pump control method

• US 20060239828A1
• Filed: 03/20/2006
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Igarashi, Hitoshi, Koyama, Kaoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,600,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 417/22
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/065 and making use of computers

Abstract

A pump control mechanism includes a pump unit for feeding liquid to container, a position detector for detecting the position in the reciprocating motion of the pump member, a control table having control information of many time zone sections, an information memory for storing target information corresponding to a target driving speed, a driving information calculator for calculating driving information of a motor on the basis of the reciprocating position detection, a correcting information calculator for calculating correction information for reducing the difference between the driving information and the target information, and a corrector for correcting the control table. The control table has individual control information for each of time zone sections for increasing/reducing the driving force in accordance with the magnitude of the load of the motor, and a control information increasing section for locally increasing the driving force in connection with a case where a large load locally acts on the motor exists in the control table.

Claims

1. A pump control mechanism comprising:

a pump unit that feeds liquid stored in a liquid supply source to a container and has;

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information; and

an information memory that stores;

a control table having a plurality of the control information; and

target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor when the motor is driven,

wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, the time zone sections including a control information increasing section for locally increasing the driving force in accordance with a case where a large load locally acts on the motor.

8. A printer comprising the pump control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein

the container is a liquid container mounted on a carriage,

the liquid is ink, and

the liquid supply source is a cartridge storing the ink.

2. A pump control mechanism comprising:

a pump unit that feeds liquid stored in a liquid supply source to a container and has;

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information; and

a position detector detecting a position of the pump member in the reciprocating motion thereof;

an information memory that stores;

a control table having a plurality of the control information; and

target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor when the motor is driven;

a driving information calculator that calculates driving information corresponding to a driving speed for reciprocating the pump member based on the position of the pump member detected by the position detector;

a correction information calculator that compares the driving information with the target information and calculates correction information for the control table so as to reduce a difference between the driving information and the target information based on the comparison; and

a corrector that corrects the control table applied to the motor based on the correction information,

wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, the time zone sections including a control information increasing section for locally increasing the driving force in accordance with a case where a large load locally acts on the motor.

3. The pump control mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the time zone sections include a control information reducing section for locally reducing the driving force.

4. The pump control mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the control table contains an area where the control information increasing section and the control information reducing section are alternately repeated.

5. The pump control mechanism according to claim 4, wherein an average of the control information in the area is set to be larger than the control information required to drive the motor in the area.

6. The pump control mechanism according to claim 2, wherein

the control information is a Duty ratio for carrying out PWM control at a pulse voltage applied to the motor,

the control table is so constructed that the Duty ratio corresponding to each of the control information is individually increased or reduced from a reference value based on a variation of the load within one cycle of the pump member which is measured in advance, and

the correction information is a value for changing the Duty ratio of the pulse voltage in the PWM control.

7. The pump control mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the position detector detects the position in the reciprocating motion of the pump member at an expansion end side of the pump member.

9. A pump control method for feeding liquid stored in a liquid supply source to container by using a pump unit including:

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information, the method comprising;

a read-out step of reading out a control table stored in an information memory, wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, the time zone sections including a control information increasing section for locally increasing the driving force in accordance with a case where a large load locally acts on the motor;

an initial driving step of driving the motor based on the control table read out in the read-out step, thereby reciprocating the pump unit;

a position detecting step of detecting a position in the reciprocating motion of the pump member;

a driving information calculating step of calculating driving information corresponding to a driving speed of the motor for reciprocating the pump member based on the position of the pump member detected in the position detecting step;

a correction information calculating step of comparing the driving information calculated in the driving information calculating step with target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor stored in the information memory, and calculating, based on the comparison, correction information to reduce a difference between the driving information and the target information;

a correcting step of correcting the control table applied to the motor based on the correction information; and

a correction driving step of driving the motor based on the control information corrected based on the correction information.

10. A pump control mechanism comprising:

a pump unit that feeds liquid stored in a liquid supply source to a container and has;

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information; and

an information memory that stores;

a control table having a plurality of the control information and corresponding to a cycle of the reciprocating motion; and

target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor when the motor is driven,

wherein the control information at the last portion of the cycle increases a driving force of the motor as compared with that at the initial portion of the cycle.

12. The pump control mechanism according to claim 10, wherein a peak of the load in the control table exists between the initial portion and the last portion of the cycle, and

the control information at the time zone section corresponding to the last portion increases the driving force as compared with an average control information of the cycle.

13. The pump control mechanism according to claim 10, wherein when the driving speed of the motor exceeds a fixed threshold value, the control information at a section just prior to that of the time zone portion corresponding to the last portion reduces the driving force of the motor as compared with that at the time zone section corresponding to the initial portion.

14. The pump control mechanism according to claim 10, wherein

the control information is a Duty ratio for carrying out PWM control at a pulse voltage applied to the motor,

the control table is so constructed that the Duty ratio corresponding to each of the control information is individually increased or reduced from a reference value based on a variation of the load within one cycle of the pump member which is measured in advance, and

the correction information is a value for changing the Duty ratio of the pulse voltage in the PWM control.

16. A printer comprising the pump control mechanism according to claim 10, wherein

the container is a liquid container mounted on a carriage,

the liquid is ink, and

the liquid supply source is a cartridge storing the ink.

11. A pump control mechanism comprising:

a pump unit that feeds liquid stored in a liquid supply source to a container and has;

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information;

a position detector detecting a position of the pump member in the reciprocating motion;

an information memory that stores;

a control table having a plurality of the control information and corresponding to a cycle of the reciprocating motion; and

target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor when the motor is driven,

a driving information calculator that calculates driving information corresponding to a driving speed for reciprocating the pump member based on the position of the pump member detected by the position detector;

a correction information calculator that compares the driving information with the target information and calculates correction information for the control table so as to reduce a difference between the driving information and the target information based on the comparison; and

a corrector that corrects the control table applied to the motor based on the correction information,

wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, and

the control information at the time zone section corresponding to the last portion of the cycle increases a driving force of the motor as compared with that at the time zone section corresponding to the initial portion of the cycle.

15. The pump control mechanism according to claim 11, wherein the position detector detects the position in the reciprocating motion of the pump member at an expansion end side of the pump member, and

the expansion end serves as a boundary between adjacent cycles.

17. A pump control method for feeding liquid stored in a liquid supply source to container by using a pump unit including:

a pump member reciprocatable to give air pressure; and

a motor that reciprocates the pump member and is controlled based on control information, the method comprising;

a read-out step of reading out a control table stored in an information memory, wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, and the control information at time zone section corresponding to the last portion of the cycle increases a driving force of the motor as compared with that at the time zone section corresponding to the initial portion of the cycle;

an initial driving step of driving the motor based on the control table read out in the read-out step, thereby reciprocating the pump unit;

a position detecting step of detecting a position in the reciprocating motion of the pump member;

a driving information calculating step of calculating driving information corresponding to a driving speed of the motor for reciprocating the pump member based on the position of the pump member detected in the position detecting step;

a correction information calculating step of comparing the driving information calculated in the driving information calculating step with target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor stored in the information memory, and calculating, based on the comparison, correction information to reduce a difference between the driving information and the target information;

a correcting step of correcting the control table applied to the motor based on the correction information; and

a correction driving step of driving the motor based on the control information corrected based on the correction information.

18. A pump control mechanism comprising:

a pump unit that feeds liquid stored in a liquid supply source to a container and has;

a pump member; and

a motor that drives the pump member and is controlled based on control information; and

an information memory that stores;

a control table having a plurality of the control information; and

target information corresponding to a target driving speed of the motor when the motor is driven,

wherein the control table includes time zone sections, each having the control information for increasing or decreasing a driving force of the motor in accordance with a magnitude of a load of the motor, the time zone sections including a control information increasing section for locally increasing the driving force.

19. The pump control mechanism according to claim 18, wherein the control information increasing section is provided in accordance with a case where a large load locally acts on the motor.

20. The pump control mechanism according to claim 18, wherein the control information increasing section is provided at the last portion of a driving cycle of the pump member for increasing a driving force of the motor as compared with that at the initial portion of the driving cycle.