Printer Feeder Motor Speed Control to Prevent Throttling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printing systems experience throughput reduction due to 'throttling', which occurs when the feeding mechanism is stopped and restarted during image data preparation, leading to delays and lower productivity.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to dynamically adjust the feeder motor speed based on image preparation time and transport motor speed, ensuring continuous operation by setting the feeder motor speed to a calculated value that balances between maximum and minimum speeds to prevent throttling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the feeder motor operates at maximum speed continuously, then throughput is maximized, but throttling occurs when image data preparation takes longer than the feeding time
Solution Approach 1:
The feeder motor speed is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The system calculates the required feeder speed based on image preparation time and transport speed, allowing the feeder to operate at optimal speed for each printing task. This dynamic adjustment prevents throttling by ensuring the feeder speed matches the image processing capability, thereby maintaining continuous operation and maximizing throughput without causing delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters (speed) of the feeder motor based on real-time conditions. By calculating the image preparation time and adjusting the feeder speed parameter accordingly, the system adapts to varying image complexity and communication delays. This parameter adjustment ensures that the feeder never operates faster than the image processing can handle, eliminating throttling while maintaining high productivity.
2Reliability
If the feeder motor speed is reduced to prevent throttling, then continuous operation is maintained, but throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of reducing speed universally, the system dynamically adjusts the feeder speed parameter to match the image preparation rate. By calculating the optimal speed based on actual image processing time and transport speed, the system maintains the highest possible throughput while ensuring continuous operation. The feeder operates at maximum feasible speed without causing throttling, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the image preparation time is measured and used to adjust the feeder speed. This closed-loop control ensures that the feeder speed is always optimized based on actual system performance. The feedback allows the system to maintain continuous operation at the highest possible speed without throttling, as the speed is continuously adjusted to match the image processing capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If the feeder motor is stopped to wait for image data preparation, then image quality is ensured, but productivity is reduced due to stopping and restarting
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the required feeder speed before starting the feeding process. By determining the image preparation time in advance and setting the feeder speed accordingly, the system ensures that the feeder and image processing are synchronized from the start. This preliminary action prevents the need to stop the feeder, as the speed is pre-calculated to match the image processing rate, thereby maintaining both image quality and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The feeder speed is dynamically adjusted to match the image processing rate, allowing continuous operation without stopping. The system calculates the optimal speed based on image complexity and communication delays, ensuring that the feeder operates at the precise speed needed to maintain image quality while avoiding interruptions. This dynamic approach eliminates the stop-start cycle that reduces productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a feed rate of a printer, and a printer employing same, wherein the printer includes a feeder motor driving a feeder mechanism and a transport motor driving a transport mechanism. The method includes receiving image data for a first item of print media in a print job, processing the image data to create printable image data, and determining an image preparation time that is a time difference between the time when the printable image data is completed and the time when the start of the image data is first received. The method then further includes determining a current feeder speed based on at least the image preparation time. Following that that determination, the method includes: (i) turning the transport motor on, and (ii) setting a speed of the feeder motor equal to the current feeder speed and thereafter turning the feeder motor on.