JP2001315395A - PRINT CONTROL DEVICE, PRINT CONTROL METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM CONTAINING PRINT CONTROL PROGRAM - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent deterioration of print quality without lowering print throughput as much as possible. SOLUTION: A carriage 3 on which a recording head 9 is mounted.
When the carriage of the print medium 50 does not stop until immediately before the carriage reaches the print start position, the carriage head 4 is controlled so as not to perform the printing operation. .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a recording medium on which a print control program is recorded, and more particularly to a print medium transport motor and a carriage motor used for transporting a print medium. Can be

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in a serial printer such as an ink jet printer, a print medium (for example, paper or cloth) is transported by a print medium transport motor (for example, a DC motor), and a print head scans over the print medium. Perform printing. The recording head is fixed to the carriage and moves with the carriage. The carriage is driven by a motor (for example, a DC motor). The driving method is as follows.

First, a timing belt is tensioned to a predetermined tension by a pulley fixed to a rotating shaft of a DC motor and a driven vehicle paired with the pulley, and the carriage is mounted on the timing belt. Have been. Thereby, the carriage is driven so as to move in the main scanning direction by the rotation of the DC motor. Printing is performed when the carriage is moving at a constant speed, that is, when the DC motor is rotating at a constant speed. Printing is performed when the print medium is stopped.

A conventional print control method for such a printer will be described by taking a case where a print medium is paper as an example. In this case, the print medium transport motor is referred to as a paper feed motor (hereinafter, also referred to as a PF motor).

[0005] First, after starting the PF motor as shown at time t ₀ in FIG. 14 (a), and controlled so that the PF motor is a constant speed and transports the paper is a printing medium. While the PF motor is running at a constant speed, a carriage motor (hereinafter C)
R motor) is started (time t _{1 in} FIG. 14B).
), And run the CR motor at a constant speed. When a predetermined amount of paper is fed by the PF motor, the PF motor stops (FIG. 14).
See time t ₂ of the (a)), the immediately or a predetermined recording head mounted on the carriage after the lapse of time to operate the printing reference time t ₃ (FIG. 14 (b)). The printing operation is terminated with the constant speed running of the CR motor (see time t ₄ in FIG. 14 (b)), the CR motor is stopped after deceleration of the CR motor (see time t ₅ in FIG. 14 (b)) structure and Has become.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional print control method, the CR is provided with a margin (= t ₃ −t ₂ ) so that the printing operation is started after the PF motor is stopped.
The motor was started.

However, in the conventional control method, there is a possibility that the PF motor stops at a position (or time) subsequent to the position (or time) at which the PF motor originally stops, and the printing operation starts before the PF motor stops. there were. If the printing operation starts before the PF motor stops, the printing quality deteriorates.

To prevent this, a margin (= t ₃ −
It is conceivable that t ₂ ) is made large, but in this case, there is a problem that the printing throughput is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control method capable of preventing deterioration of print quality without reducing print throughput as much as possible. It is an object to provide a recording medium on which a print control program is recorded.

[0010]

A print control apparatus according to the present invention activates a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and conveys a print medium until immediately before the carriage reaches a print start position. When the recording does not stop, the recording head is controlled so as not to perform a printing operation.

The print control apparatus according to the present invention includes a first drive control section for driving and controlling a print medium transport motor used for transporting a print medium, and a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted. A second drive control unit for controlling the drive, a third drive control unit for controlling the drive of the recording head, a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor, and a start / run schedule of the carriage motor based on print information And a scheduler that sets a print schedule for the recording head and controls the first to third drive controllers based on the set schedule. If the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches the print start position, the third drive is stopped. Sending a print non-permission command to a control unit to control the recording head so as not to perform a printing operation, and sending a carriage motor stop signal to the second drive control unit to control the carriage motor to stop. It is characterized by.

After stopping the carriage, the schedule unit sends a command signal to the second drive control unit to move the carriage from the print start position to a start position where printing is possible, and thereafter, The printing apparatus may be configured to start the carriage and send a print permission command to the third drive control unit so that the print operation is performed when the carriage reaches the print start position.

The schedule section includes a schedule setting section for setting a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor, a start / run schedule of the carriage motor, and a print schedule of the recording head based on the print information. A first schedule control unit that controls the first drive control unit based on a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor, and a second drive control unit based on a start / run schedule of the carriage motor And controlling the third drive control unit based on a print schedule of the recording head, and the third drive is performed when the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches a print start position. A print non-permission command is sent to the control unit, and the carriage drive mode is sent to the second drive control unit. A second schedule control unit for sending a stop signal may be configured with.

[0014] The schedule unit may be configured to include a start start position calculating unit that calculates a start position of the carriage at which printing can be performed at the print start position.

[0015] The printing medium may be paper.

Further, the printing control method according to the present invention starts a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, so that the conveyance of the print medium is not stopped immediately before the carriage reaches a printing start position. And controlling the recording head so as not to perform a printing operation.

The step of controlling the recording head so as not to perform the printing operation includes the step of activating the carriage motor according to a predetermined schedule and the step of determining whether the carriage has reached the print start position.
Controlling the printing head to not perform a printing operation when the print medium does not stop until immediately before the carriage reaches the printing start position, and stopping the carriage motor. good.

Note that, after stopping the carriage motor, a step of calculating a starting position of the carriage at which printing can be performed at the printing start position, and a step of moving the carriage to the calculated starting position. And thereafter starting the carriage and starting the printing operation of the recording head when the carriage reaches the printing start position.

The recording medium on which the print control program according to the present invention has been recorded activates a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and conveys the print medium immediately before the carriage reaches a printing start position. A step of controlling the recording head so as not to perform a printing operation when the recording head does not stop.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following embodiment, a case where the print medium is paper will be described as an example.

First, before describing the configuration of an embodiment of a print control device according to the present invention, the configuration of an ink jet printer to which the print control device of this embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. explain. FIG. 7 shows a schematic configuration of the ink jet printer.

This ink jet printer includes a paper feed motor (hereinafter, also referred to as a PF motor) 1 for feeding paper,
A paper feed motor driver 2 for driving this paper feed motor 1
, A carriage 3, a carriage motor (hereinafter also referred to as a CR motor) 4 for driving the carriage 3, and a CR motor driver 5 for driving the carriage motor 4
A DC unit 6, a pump motor 7 for controlling suction of ink for preventing clogging, a pump motor driver 8 for driving the pump motor 7, and ink ejected to the printing paper 50 fixed to the carriage 3. Recording head 9, a head driver 10 for driving and controlling the recording head 9, a linear encoder 11 fixed to the carriage 3, and a code plate 1 having slits formed at predetermined intervals.
2, a rotary encoder 13 for the PF motor 1,
A paper detection sensor 15 for detecting the end position of the paper being printed, a CPU 16 for controlling the entire printer,
A timer IC 17 for periodically generating an interrupt signal for the PU 16 and an interface unit (hereinafter also referred to as IF) 1 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the host computer 18
An ASIC 20 for controlling a print resolution and a drive waveform of the recording head 9 based on print information transmitted from the host computer 18 via the IF 19;
PROM21, RAM22 and EEP used as work areas and program storage areas for CPU 0 and CPU16.
ROM 23 and platen 25 supporting paper 50 being printed
A transport roller 27 driven by the PF motor 1 to transport the printing paper 50; a pulley 30 attached to the rotation shaft of the CR motor 4; and a timing belt 31 driven by the pulley 30. .

The DC unit 6 controls the driving of the paper feed motor driver 2 and the CR motor driver 5 based on the control commands sent from the CPU 16 and the outputs of the encoders 11 and 13. Further, the paper feed motors 1 and C
Each of the R motors 4 is constituted by a DC motor.

FIG. 8 shows the structure around the carriage 3 of the ink jet printer.

The carriage 3 is connected to the carriage motor 4 via a pulley 30 by a timing belt 31 and is driven by a guide member 32 to move parallel to the platen 25. On the surface of the carriage 3 facing the printing paper, a recording head 9 composed of a nozzle row for discharging black ink and a nozzle row for discharging color ink is provided. Each nozzle row is supplied with ink from an ink cartridge 34. Prints characters and images by ejecting ink droplets on printing paper.

In the non-printing area of the carriage 3, a capping device 35 for sealing the nozzle opening of the recording head 9 during non-printing and a pump unit 36 having the pump motor 7 shown in FIG. 7 are provided. I have. When the carriage 3 moves from the print area to the non-print area, the capping device 35 moves upward by contacting a lever (not shown) to seal the recording head 9.

When clogging occurs in the nozzle opening row of the recording head 9 or when ink is forcibly ejected from the recording head 9 by exchanging the cartridge 34 or the like, the recording head 9 is sealed. The pump unit 36 is operated, and the negative pressure from the pump unit 36 sucks ink from the nozzle opening row. As a result, dust and paper dust adhering in the vicinity of the nozzle opening row are washed, and air bubbles in the recording head 9 are discharged to the cap 37 together with the ink.

Next, the configuration of the linear encoder 11 attached to the carriage 3 is shown in FIG. The encoder 11 includes a light emitting diode 11a and a collimator lens 11
b and a detection processing unit 11c. The detection processing unit 11c includes a plurality (four) of photodiodes 11d,
A signal processing circuit 11e and two comparators 11f _A ,
It has a 11f _B, and.

When a voltage Vcc is applied to both ends of the light emitting diode 11a via a resistor, light is emitted from the light emitting diode 11a. This light is made parallel by the collimator lens 11b and passes through the code plate 12. Code plate 12
At a predetermined interval (for example, 1/180 inch (= 1/18)
0 × 2.54 cm)).

The parallel light that has passed through the code plate 12 passes through a fixed slit (not shown) and passes through each photodiode 11d.
And is converted into an electric signal. The electric signals output from the four photodiodes 11d are applied to the signal processing circuit 11
The signal is processed in e. The signals outputted from the signal processing circuit 11e is a comparator 11f _A, are compared in 11f _B, the compared results are outputted as pulses. Pulse EN output from comparators 11f _A and 11f _B
CA and ENC-B are outputs of the encoder 11.

The phases of the pulse ENC-A and the pulse ENC-B differ by 90 degrees. When the CR motor 4 is rotating forward, that is, when the carriage 3 is moving in the main scanning direction, the pulse ENC-A is changed to the pulse EN as shown in FIG.
When the phase is advanced by 90 degrees from CB and the CR motor 4 is rotating in the reverse direction, the pulse EN as shown in FIG.
The encoder 4 is configured so that CA has a phase delayed by 90 degrees from the pulse ENC-B. One cycle T of the pulse corresponds to a slit interval of the code plate 12 (for example, 1/180 inch (= 1/180 × 2.54 cm)), and is equal to a time during which the carriage 3 moves in the slit interval.

On the other hand, the rotary encoder 13 for the PF motor 1 has the same configuration as the linear encoder 11 except that the code plate is a rotating disk that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the PF motor 1. Output pulses ENC-A,
Outputs ENC-B. In the ink jet printer, the slit interval of a plurality of slits provided on the code plate of the encoder 13 for the PF motor 1 is 1 /.
180 inches (= 1/180 × 2.54 cm)
When the PF motor 1 rotates by one slit interval, 1
The paper is fed by / 1440 inches (= 1/1440 × 2.54 cm).

Next, the paper detection sensor 15 shown in FIG.
Will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, the paper 5 inserted into the paper feed slot 61 of the printer 60 is
0 is the paper feed roller 6 driven by the paper feed motor 63
4 to the printer 60. Printer 6
The leading end of the paper 50 fed into the area 0 is detected by, for example, an optical paper detection sensor 15. This paper detection sensor 1
The paper 50 whose leading end is detected by the PF motor 5 is fed to a paper feed roller 65 and a driven roller 66 driven by the PF motor 1.
Paper feed is performed.

Subsequently, printing is performed by dropping ink from a recording head (not shown) fixed to the carriage 3 moving along the carriage guide member 32. When the paper is fed to a predetermined position,
The end of the printed paper 50 is detected by the paper detection sensor 15. The gear 67c driven by the PF motor 1 drives the gear 67c via the gear 67b, whereby the paper discharge roller 68 and the driven roller 69 are driven to rotate, and the paper 50 on which printing has been completed is discharged to the paper discharge port. It is discharged from 62 to the outside. Note that a code plate (not shown) of the encoder 13 is attached to a rotation shaft of the paper feed roller 65.

Next, FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the print control apparatus according to the present invention. The print control apparatus according to this embodiment includes a schedule setting unit 16a, a schedule control unit 16b, a CR activation start position calculation unit 16c, a schedule control unit 16d, a CR motor control unit 80, a print start position determination unit 82 A CR motor stop determination unit 84;
A PF motor control unit 90 and a PF motor stop determination unit 92 are provided. The CR motor control unit 80, the print start position determination unit 82, the CR motor stop determination unit 84, the PF motor control unit 90, and the PF motor stop determination unit 92 are shown in FIG.
It is included in the C unit 6. Further, the schedule setting unit 16a, the schedule control unit 16b, the CR activation start position calculation unit 16c, and the schedule control unit 16d are included in the CPU 16 shown in FIG.

The schedule setting section 16a sets the start-up and running schedule of the PF motor 1, the start-up and running schedule of the CR motor 4, and the printing schedule of the recording head 9 based on the print information. The printing schedule is, for example, a timing at which a minute vibration before printing is applied to a piezo element for forming an ink droplet provided in each nozzle of the recording head 9 and a period of the time, a printing waveform applied to the piezo element. , The print start position, the print end position, and the like.

The schedule control section 16b sends a command signal necessary for controlling the CR motor 4 to the CR motor control section 80 based on the start and running schedule of the CR motor 4 set by the schedule setting section 16a. Is done. Before receiving the print start position notification signal sent from the print start position determination unit 82 immediately before the carriage 3 reaches the print start position, a PF motor stop signal indicating that the paper feed by the PF motor 1 has stopped is received. PF
When the print start signal is received from the motor stop determination unit 92, a print enable signal is output to the head driver 10 shown in FIG. 7 to start printing from the print start position. On the other hand, if the PF motor stop signal is not received, a print non-permission command is output to the head driver 10 so as to control not to print, and a CR motor stop command is sent to the CR motor control unit 80 to output the CR motor 4. To stop. After that, the stop position of the carriage 3 sent from the CR motor control unit 80 and the print information are sent to the CR start start position calculation unit 16c, and the carriage 3 that enables the recording head 9 to print at the print start position. Is calculated. Subsequently, the calculated start start position is received from the CR start start position calculating unit 16c and sent to the CR motor control unit 80.
The carriage 3 is controlled to move to the calculated start position. The print start position determination unit 82 determines whether the carriage 3 has reached the print start position based on the output of the encoder 11 and the print start position sent from the schedule control unit 16b. The PF motor stop determination unit 92 determines the PF based on the output of the encoder 13
It is determined whether or not the paper feed by the motor 1 has stopped. The CR motor stop determining unit 84 determines whether the CR motor 4 has stopped based on the output of the encoder 11.

The schedule control unit 16d sends a command signal necessary for controlling the PF motor 1 to the PF motor control unit 90 based on the start-up and running schedule of the PF motor 1 set by the schedule setting unit 16a. Let it.

Next, control of the CR motor 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. The control of the CR motor 4 is performed by a CR motor control unit 80 provided in the DC unit 6, and the CR motor control unit 80 includes a position counter 80a, a subtraction unit 80b, and a target speed calculation, as shown in FIG. Unit 80c, speed calculating unit 80d, subtractor 80
e, a proportional element 80f, an integral element 80g, a differential element 80h, an adder 80i, and a D / A converter 80j.
, A timer 80k, and an acceleration control unit 80m.

The position counter 80a detects the rising edge and the falling edge of each of the output pulses ENC-A and ENC-B of the encoder 11, counts the number of the detected edges, and, based on the counted value, the carriage. The position of 3 is calculated. This count adds “+1” when one edge is detected when the CR motor 4 is rotating forward, and “−1” when one edge is detected when the CR motor 4 is rotating reversely. Is added. Pulse ENC-A and ENC-
Each period of B is equal to the slit interval of the code plate, and the phases of the pulses ENC-A and ENC-B differ by 90 degrees. For this reason, the count value “1” of the above-mentioned counting is 1/1 of the slit interval of the code plate of the encoder 13.
Corresponds to 4. By multiplying the counted value by 1/4 of the slit interval, the counted value of the carriage 3 becomes "0".
The amount of movement from the position corresponding to can be obtained. At this time, the resolution of the encoder 11 is 1/720 inch (=
1/720 × 2.54 cm).

The subtractor 80b calculates a positional deviation between the target position and the count value of the position counter 80a.

The target speed calculator 80c calculates the target speed of the CR motor 4 based on the position deviation output from the subtracter 80b. This calculation is performed by multiplying the position deviation by the gain Kp. This gain Kp is determined according to the position deviation. The value of the gain Kp may be stored in a table (not shown).

The speed calculating section 80d determines the CR motor 4 based on the output pulses ENC-A and ENC-B of the encoder 11.
Calculate the speed of This speed is determined as follows. First, the output pulses ENC-A, EN of the encoder 11
The rising edge and the falling edge of each of CB are detected, and the time interval between the edges is counted by, for example, a timer counter. Assuming that the count value is T, the speed is proportional to 1 / T.

The subtractor 80e calculates a speed deviation between the target speed and the actual speed of the CR motor 4 calculated by the speed calculator 80d.

The proportional element 80f is a constant Gp
And outputs the multiplication result. The integrating element 80g integrates the value obtained by multiplying the speed deviation by a constant Gi. Differential element 80
h multiplies the difference between the current speed deviation and the immediately preceding speed deviation by a constant Gd, and outputs the multiplication result. The proportional element 80
The calculation of f, the integration element 80g, and the differentiation element 80h is performed every cycle of the output pulse ENC-A of the encoder 11, for example, in synchronization with the rising edge of the output pulse ENC-A.

The outputs of the proportional element 80f, the integral element 80g, and the differential element 80h are added in an adder 80i. Then, the addition result, that is, the drive current of the CR motor 4 is sent to the D / A converter 80j and converted into an analog current. The CR motor 4 is driven by the driver 5 based on the analog current.

The timer 80k and the acceleration control unit 80
m is used for acceleration control, and the proportional element 80f and the integral element 8
The PID control using 0g and the differential element 80h is used for constant speed and deceleration control during acceleration.

The timer 80k generates a timer interrupt signal at predetermined time intervals based on a clock signal sent from the CPU 16.

The acceleration control unit 80m integrates a predetermined current value (for example, 20 mA) to the target current value each time the timer interrupt signal is received, and the integration result, that is, the target current value of the CR motor 4 during acceleration is D / D. It is sent to A converter 80j. As in the case of the PID control, the target current value is D / A
The current is converted into an analog current by the converter 80j, and the CR motor 4 is driven by the driver 5 based on the analog current.

The driver 5 has, for example, four transistors, and turns on or off each of the transistors based on the output of the D / A converter 80j. (A) The operation of rotating the CR motor 4 forward or backward Mode (b) Regenerative brake operation mode (short brake operation mode, that is, a mode in which the CR motor 4 is kept stopped) (c) A mode in which the CR motor 4 is stopped is configured. .

Next, the operation of the CR motor control unit 80 will be described with reference to FIGS. When a start command signal for starting the CR motor 4 is sent to the CR motor control unit 80 while the CR motor 4 is stopped, the acceleration control unit 80
Start from m initial current value I ₀ is fed to the D / A converter 80j. The starting initial current value I ₀ is sent from the CPU 16 to the acceleration control unit 80m together with the starting command signal. This current value I ₀ is determined by the D / A converter 80j.
Is converted into an analog current and sent to the driver 5, and the driver 5 starts the CR motor 4 (see FIGS. 5A and 5B).

After receiving the start command signal, the timer 80k generates a timer interrupt signal at predetermined time intervals. Acceleration control unit 80m is each time receiving a timer interrupt signal, starts a predetermined current value to an initial current value I ₀ by integrating (e.g. 20 mA), and sends the integrated current value to the D / A converter 80j. Then, the integrated current value is stored in the D / A converter 80.
The signal is converted into an analog current by j and sent to the driver 5. Then, the driver 5 controls the CR so that the value of the current supplied to the CR motor 4 becomes the integrated current value.
The motor 4 is driven and the speed of the CR motor 4 increases (see FIG. 5B). Therefore, the current value supplied to the CR motor 4 has a stepped shape as shown in FIG.

At this time, the PID control system is also operating, but the D / A converter 80j selects and takes in the output of the acceleration control unit 80m.

The accumulating process of the current value of the acceleration control unit 80m is as follows.
The integrated current value is a constant current value I_SUntil it becomes
You. Time t₁Is the predetermined value I_SBecomes
And the acceleration control unit 80m stops the integration process, and
A constant current value I _SSupply. This
The value of the current supplied to the CR motor 4 is the current value I_STona
(See FIG. 5A).
See).

When the speed of the CR motor 4 reaches a predetermined speed V ₁ (time t ₂ ), the current supplied to the CR motor 4 is reduced to prevent the speed of the CR motor 4 from overshooting. The acceleration control unit 80m controls so as to make it smaller. At this time rises CR speed of the motor 4 is further (see time _{t 3} in FIG. 5 (b)) and the speed of the CR motor 4 reaches a predetermined speed v _c, D / A converter 80
j selects the output of the PID control system, that is, the output of the adder 80i, and the PID control is performed.

That is, the target position and the position counter 80
The target speed is calculated based on the position deviation from the count value of a.
From the target speed and the output of the encoder 11.
Based on the speed deviation from the actual speed
f, the integral element 80g, and the derivative element 80h operate;
The proportional, integral, and derivative operations are performed, respectively, and these operations are performed.
Control of the CR motor 4 is performed based on the sum of the calculation results.
You. Note that the above-described proportional, integral, and differential operations are, for example,
The rising edge of the output pulse ENC-A of the encoder 11
It is performed in synchronization with the luggage. This makes the speed of the CR motor 4
Degree is the desired speed v _eIt is controlled so that The place
Constant speed v_cIs the desired speed v_e70-80% of
Is preferred.

From time t ₄ , the CR motor 4 starts to operate at the desired speed v _e
Becomes Then, the CR motor 4 approaches the target position (see time t ₅ in FIG. 5 (b)), the deceleration of the CR motor 4 is performed, the CR motor 4 is stopped at time t _6.

On the other hand, the control of the PF motor 1 is performed by the PF motor control section 90 as shown in FIG. This P
Similarly to the CR motor control unit 80, the F motor control unit 90 includes a position counter 90a, a subtraction unit 90b, a target speed calculation unit 90c, a speed calculation unit 90d, and a subtractor 90e.
, The proportional element 90f, the integral element 90g, and the differential element 9
0h, an adder 90i, a D / A converter 90j,
It has a timer 90k and an acceleration control unit 90m.

The position counter 90a detects the rising edge and the falling edge of each of the output pulses ENC-A and ENC-B of the encoder 13, counts the number of detected edges, and based on the count value, determines the PF. The amount of paper fed by the motor 1 is calculated. The counting of edges is performed in the same manner as in the case of the position counter 80a of the CR motor control unit 80.

The PF motor control unit 90 includes the encoder 13
The speed of the PF motor 1 is calculated based on the output pulses ENC-A and ENC-B.

The components other than the position counter 90a and the speed controller 90d perform the same operations as the corresponding components of the CR motor controller 80. The output of the D / A converter 90j is sent to the paper feed driver 2. The paper feed driver 2 has the same configuration as the CR motor driver 5, and drives the PF motor 1 based on the output of the D / A converter 90j.

Next, the operation of the print control apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the schedule setting section 16a sets the start-up and running schedule of the PF motor 1, the start-up and running schedule of the CR motor 4, and the print schedule of the recording head 9 based on the print information (step F1 in FIG. 2). reference).

Next, based on the set start-up and running schedule of the PF motor 1, the schedule control unit 16
A start command is sent from d to the PF motor control unit 90 (see step F2 in FIG. 2). Thereby, the PF motor 1 is started by the PF motor control unit 90 (see step F3 in FIG. 2).

Next, based on the set start-up and running schedule of the CR motor 4, the schedule control unit 16
A start command is sent from b to the CR motor control unit 80 (see step F4 in FIG. 2). As a result, the CR motor 4 is started by the CR motor control unit 80 (see step F5 in FIG. 2).

When the CR motor is started, the print start position determining unit 82 determines whether the carriage 3 has reached the print start position based on the output of the encoder 11 (see step F6 in FIG. 2). Immediately before the carriage 3 reaches the print start position, a print start position notification signal is sent from the print start position determination unit 82 to the schedule control unit 16b. When the schedule control unit 16b receives the print start position notification signal, the PF motor stop determination unit 9
Whether the PF motor stop signal has already been sent from 2
That is, it is determined whether the paper feed by the PF motor 1 is stopped (see step F7 in FIG. 2).

If the paper feed has stopped, the process proceeds to step F15, where a print permission command is sent from the schedule control unit 16b to the head driver 10, and printing is performed (see step F16 in FIG. 2).

In step F7, if the paper feed is not stopped, the schedule control unit 16b sends the CR
A CR motor stop command for stopping the CR motor 4 is sent to the motor control unit 80 (see step F8 in FIG. 2), and a print non-permission command is output to the head driver 10 (see step F9 in FIG. 2). Accordingly, the CR motor control unit 80 controls the CR motor 4 to stop, and the head driver 10 controls the recording head 9 so as not to perform a printing operation.

Thereafter, the CR motor stop determining section 84 determines whether or not the CR motor 4 has stopped (see step F10 in FIG. 2).
R motor stop determination unit 84 to schedule control unit 16b
Is sent a CR motor stop signal. Then, the schedule control unit 16b determines the current stop position of the carriage 3 which is the output of the position counter 80a of the CR motor control unit 80,
The print start position is sent to the CR start position calculating unit 16c.

As a result, the CR start start position calculating section 16c calculates the start position of the carriage 3 at which the recording head 9 can print at the print start position (see step F11 in FIG. 2). The starting position will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 3 is activated from the activation start position 52a, and the recording head 9 performs a printing operation to form a print example 51a. Thereafter, the paper is fed and the carriage 3 stops at the position 52b. At this time, a start command is issued to form the print example 51b, and the carriage is started. However, if the paper feed is not stopped until just before the carriage reaches the print start position 53 of the print example 51b, the print example 51b Is not performed, and the carriage 3 stops at the position 54. In this case, the start position of the carriage 3 for forming the print example 51b, which is calculated by the CR start start position calculating unit 16c, is the position 55.

The calculated start position is sent to the CR motor controller 80 via the schedule controller 16b. Then, the carriage 3 is moved to the start position under the control of the CR motor control unit 80 (see step F12 in FIG. 2).

Thereafter, a start command is sent again from the schedule control unit 16b to the CR motor control unit 80, and the CR motor 4, that is, the carriage 3 is started (see step F13 in FIG. 2). Then, it is determined by the print start position determining section 82 whether or not the carriage 3 has reached the print start position (see step F14 in FIG. 2). Carriage 3
Immediately before reaches the print start position, a print start position notification signal is sent to the schedule control unit 16b. As a result, a print permission command is output from the schedule control unit 16b to the head driver 10 (see step F15 in FIG. 2), and printing is started (see step F16 in FIG. 2).

As described above, according to the printing control apparatus of the present embodiment, even if the carriage 3 reaches the printing start position, if the PF motor 1 is not stopped, the printing is not performed and the carriage 3 is not operated. By stopping the carriage 3 and then moving the carriage 3 to a start position where printing can be performed at the above-described printing start position, and subsequently activating the carriage 3 to perform the printing operation again, the printing throughput is reduced. The print quality can be prevented from deteriorating without being reduced as much as possible.

In this embodiment, the PF motor 1 and the CR motor 4 are DC motors. However, it is needless to say that other motors such as stepping motors may be used.

Further, it goes without saying that the print medium need not be paper.

Next, an embodiment of a recording medium on which a print control program according to the present invention is recorded is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are a perspective view and a block diagram showing an example of a computer system 130 using a recording medium on which the print control program of the present embodiment is recorded.

In FIG. 12, computer system 1
Reference numeral 30 denotes a computer main unit 131 including a CPU, a display device 132 such as a CRT, an input device 133 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a printing device 134 for executing printing.
And

As shown in FIG. 13, the computer main unit 131 has an internal memory 135 composed of a RAM and a memory unit 136 that can be built in or externally mounted. The memory unit 136 is a flexible or floppy disk. (FD) drive 137, CD-
ROM drive 138, hard disk drive (H
D) A unit 139 is mounted. As shown in FIG. 12, as a recording medium 140 used in these memory units 136, a flexible disk or floppy disk (FD) 141 inserted into a slot of an FD drive 137 and a CD-ROM drive 138 are used. The used CD-ROM 142 or the like is used.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a recording medium 140 used in a general computer system can be an FD 141 or a CD-ROM 142. This embodiment is particularly concerned with a control program for the printing apparatus 134. Therefore, for example, the print control program of the present invention may be recorded in a ROM chip 143 as a nonvolatile memory incorporated in the printing apparatus 134. In addition, as a recording medium, FD, CD-ROM,
MO (Magneto-Optical) disc,
DVD (Digital Versatile Dis)
k) It goes without saying that other optical recording disks, card memories, magnetic tapes and the like may be used.

The recording medium 140 according to the present embodiment is configured to include the control procedure steps F1 to F16 shown in FIG. The recording medium 140 according to the present embodiment
Activates a carriage motor that drives a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and prevents the recording head from performing a printing operation if the conveyance of a print medium is not stopped immediately before the carriage reaches a printing start position. You may comprise so that it may have the control procedure at least.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention, deterioration of print quality can be prevented without lowering print throughput as much as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the print control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a CR motor control unit according to the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the CR motor control unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a PF motor control unit according to the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a carriage.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a linear encoder.

FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram of an output pulse of an encoder.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the printer illustrating the position of a paper detection sensor.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a computer system using a recording medium recording a print control program according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer system using a recording medium recording a print control program according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a waveform diagram illustrating the operation of a PF motor and a CR motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Paper feed motor (PF motor) 2 Paper feed motor driver 3 Carriage 4 Carriage motor (CR motor) 5 Carriage motor driver 6 DC unit 9 Recording head 10 Head driver 11 Linear encoder 13 Encoder (rotary encoder) 16 CPU 16a Schedule Setting section 16b Schedule control section 16c CR activation start position calculation section 16d Schedule control section 80 CR motor control section 82 Printing start position determination section 84 CR motor stop determination section 90 PF motor control section 92 PF motor stop determination section

Claims (11)

[Claims] A printhead for driving a carriage on which the printhead is mounted, and when the carriage of the print medium is not stopped immediately before the carriage reaches a print start position, the printhead performs a print operation. A printing control device characterized in that control is performed so as not to be performed. A first drive control unit for driving and controlling a print medium transport motor used for transporting the print medium; and a second drive for driving and controlling a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted. A control unit, a third drive control unit that drives and controls the recording head, a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor based on print information, a start / run schedule of the carriage motor,
And a scheduler that sets a print schedule of the recording head and controls the first to third drive control units based on the set schedule. When the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches the print start position,
A print non-permission command is sent to the third drive control unit to control the recording head so as not to perform a printing operation, and a carriage motor stop signal is sent to the second drive control unit to stop the carriage motor. Printing control device characterized in that the printing is controlled as follows. 3. The schedule section, after stopping the carriage, sends a command signal to the second drive control section to move the carriage from the print start position to a start position at which printing is possible, and thereafter, Activating the carriage and issuing a print permission command to the third carriage so as to perform the printing operation when the carriage reaches the print start position.
3. The print control device according to claim 2, wherein the print control device sends the print control information to the drive control unit. 4. A schedule setting unit that sets a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor, a start / run schedule of the carriage motor, and a print schedule of the recording head based on the print information. A first schedule control unit that controls the first drive control unit based on a start / run schedule of the print medium transport motor; and a second drive control unit based on a start / run schedule of the carriage motor And controlling the third drive control unit based on a print schedule of the recording head, and the third drive is performed when the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches a print start position. A print non-permission command is sent to the control unit, and the carriage motor is stopped by the second drive control unit. Second sending a signal
The print control device according to claim 2, further comprising: a schedule control unit. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said schedule section includes a start position calculating section for calculating a start position of said carriage at which printing is possible at said print start position.
The printing control device according to the above. 6. The print control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print medium is paper. 7. A printing motor which starts a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and wherein the conveyance of the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches a printing start position, the printing head performs a printing operation. A printing control method comprising a step of controlling the printing to be performed. 8. The step of controlling the recording head so as not to perform a printing operation includes: activating the carriage motor according to a predetermined schedule; and determining whether the carriage has reached the printing start position. Controlling the recording head not to perform a printing operation when the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches the print start position, and stopping the carriage motor. Item 7. The print control method according to Item 7. 9. A step of calculating a start-up position of the carriage at which printing is possible at the print start position after stopping the carriage motor, and a step of moving the carriage to the calculated start-up position. 9. The print control method according to claim 8, further comprising: starting the carriage, and starting a print operation of the recording head when the carriage reaches the print start position. . 10. The print control method according to claim 7, wherein said print medium is paper. 11. A printing motor which starts a carriage motor for driving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and in which the conveyance of the print medium does not stop immediately before the carriage reaches a printing start position, the recording head performs a printing operation. A recording medium storing a print control program for performing print control by a computer, the procedure including a procedure for performing control so as not to perform printing.