Printer Conveying Motor Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printers using stepping motors experience resonance and noise issues when printing at high speeds due to vibration, leading to decreased printing medium conveying speed and potential 'step-out' problems, which existing solutions attempt to mitigate by delaying excitation switching timings but result in suboptimal printing speeds.
Innovation Solution
A printer system that includes a processor capable of operating a conveying motor in multiple excitation modes, estimating vibration strength values for each mode, and selecting the optimal mode to avoid resonance while maintaining desired printing speeds, thereby controlling the conveying motor to operate in a mode that minimizes vibration effects and maintains high printing speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the conveying motor is rotated at a relatively low speed to reduce vibration and resonance, then the resonance and noise are reduced, but the printing speed decreases below the desired optimal speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the excitation mode parameter of the stepping motor from conventional single-mode operation to multi-mode operation. By switching between different excitation modes (e.g., full-step, half-step, quarter-step modes), the system can operate at the desired printing speed while selecting a mode that minimizes vibration and resonance at that specific speed, thus resolving the contradiction between speed and resonance avoidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic selection of excitation modes based on real-time operating conditions. The control unit dynamically determines the appropriate excitation mode according to the current printing speed and vibration characteristics, making the system adaptable to different speed requirements while maintaining optimal vibration performance, thereby achieving both high speed and resonance avoidance.
2Reliability
If excitation switching timings are delayed to avoid resonance effects, then resonance and noise are reduced, but the printing medium conveying speed decreases below the optimal speed
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly delaying excitation switching timings, the patent changes the excitation mode parameter to achieve resonance avoidance. By selecting appropriate excitation modes with optimized timing characteristics for different operating conditions, the system can maintain optimal printing speed while avoiding resonance, eliminating the need for time-consuming delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit preliminarily determines the optimal excitation mode based on expected operating conditions and printing requirements. This preliminary selection ensures that the motor operates in the most efficient mode from the start, avoiding resonance without requiring subsequent timing delays that would reduce printing speed.
3Manufacturing precision
If the printing count is greater than one to improve printing quality, then the printing quality is improved, but the printing time increases and the stepping motor must rotate at a relatively low speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the excitation mode based on the printing count requirement. When multiple printing passes are needed for high quality, the system selects excitation modes that are optimized for lower speeds to minimize vibration and resonance during these repeated passes. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain high printing quality through multiple passes while minimizing the negative impact on overall printing speed through optimal motor control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes excitation mode parameters according to the specific printing count requirement. For variable-division printing with printing counts greater than one, the system selects excitation modes with characteristics suitable for the required number of passes, optimizing the balance between printing quality and productivity by preventing resonance that would otherwise force slower operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes a processor; a conveying motor that can operate in any one of a plurality of excitation modes, the conveying motor being configured to convey a printing medium; and a printhead that prints on the printing medium on the basis of printing data, wherein, with respect to each of at least some of the plurality of excitation modes, the processor estimates a strength value of a vibration that would be caused by said conveying motor when the conveying motor is operated in said excitation mode at a first conveying speed that is set based on the print data, and selects one of the plurality of excitation modes for actually operating the conveying motor based on the estimated strength values of the vibrations for the at least some of the plurality of excitation modes.