Control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022314666-A1
Application number	US-202217705490-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 28, 2022
Priority date	Mar 30, 2021
Publication date	Oct 6, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

In a control system, a controller is configured to determine presence or absence of an obstructed area within the intermediate section, and control movement of the moving body in accordance with a selected one of controlling methods including a first and a second control methods. The first control method causes the moving body to move at a first constant speed in the processing section defined within the intermediate section and at a second constant speed faster than the first constant speed in at least a part of a non-processing section within the intermediate section and other than the processing section, the first control method being selected when the obstructed area is absent. The second control method causes the moving body to move at the first constant speed in the processing section and the non-processing section, the second control method being selected when the obstructed area is present.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A control system, comprising:
a motor; a moving body configured to be driven by the motor to move along a passage and to process an object; an encoder including an encoder scale and a sensor configured to move relative to the encoder scale in association with the moving body to output an encoder signal by reading the encoder scale; a measuring instrument configured to measure a status amount representing a moving status of the moving body along the passage based on the encoder signal; and a controller configured to control movement of the moving body by controlling the motor based on the status amount measured by the measuring instrument, wherein a moving path of the moving body from a movement start position to a stop position includes an acceleration section, in which the moving body located at the movement start position is accelerated to a constant speed moving state, a deceleration section, in which the moving body at the constant speed moving state is decelerated and stopped at the stop point, and an intermediate section, which is defined between the acceleration section and the deceleration section, the intermediate section including a processing section, the moving body processing the object when moving in the processing section, wherein the controller is configured to perform: determining presence or absence, within the intermediate section, of an obstructed area which is a portion of the encoder scale to which an obstacle preventing the sensor from normally reading the encoder scale is adhered; selecting, based on absence or presence of the obstructed area, one of a plurality of controlling methods including a first control method and a second control method; and controlling movement of the moving body within the moving path in accordance with the selected control method, wherein the first control method causes the moving body to move at a constant speed at a first speed in the processing section defined within the intermediate section and cause the moving body to move at a constant speed at a second speed that is faster than the first speed in at least a part of a non-processing section that is a section within the intermediate section and other than the processing section, the first control method being selected when it is determined that the obstructed area is absent, and wherein the second control method causes the moving body to move at the constant speed at the first speed in the processing section and the non-processing section, the second control method being selected when it is determined that the obstructed area is present.

2 . The control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the determining the presence or absence of the obstructed area includes the determining presence or absence of the obstructed area in a particular section in which the moving body would move at a non-constant speed between the first speed and the second speed if the movement of the moving body is controlled in accordance with the first control method, and wherein, the controller selects the second control method and controls the movement of the moving body in accordance with the second method when it is determined that the obstructed area is present in the particular section, while the controller selects the first control method and controls the movement of the moving body in accordance with the first method regardless of presence or absence of the obstructed area in a section, within the intermediate section, other than the particular section when it is determined that the obstructed area is absent in the particular section.

3 . The control system according to claim 2 ,
wherein, when the intermediate section includes a first non-processing section and a second non-processing section separated by the processing section arranged therebetween, the determining the presence or absence of the obstructed area includes determining presence or absence of the obstructed area in, as the particular section, a first non-constant speed section and a second non-constant speed section, the first non-constant speed section being a section, within the first non-processing section, in which the moving body would move at a non-constant speed if the moving body is controlled in accordance with the first control method, the second non-constant speed section being a section, within the second non-processing section, in which the moving body would move at a non-constant speed if the moving body is controlled in accordance with the second control method, and wherein the controller is configured to: when it is determined that the obstructed area is present both in the first non-constant speed section and the second non-constant speed section, control the movement of the moving body in accordance with the second control method; when it is determined that the obstructed area is absent in the second non-constant speed section and present in the first non-constant speed section, control the movement of the moving body in accordance with a third control method instead of the second control method; and when it is determined that the obstructed area is absent in the first non-constant speed section and present in the second non-constant speed section, control the movement of the moving body in accordance with a fourth control method, wherein the third control method is a method of controlling the movement of the moving body such that the moving body moves at a constant speed at the first speed in, within the intermediate section, the processing section and the first non-processing section adjacent to the processing section, and at a constant speed at the second speed in, within the intermediate section, at least a part of the second non-processing section, and wherein the fourth control method is a method of controlling the movement of the moving body such that the moving body moves at a constant speed at the first speed in, within the intermediate section, the processing section and the second non-processing section adjacent to the processing section, and at a constant speed at the second speed in, within the intermediate section, at least a part of the first non-processing section.

4 . The control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is operable in: a first operation mode in which the controller selects one of the plurality of control methods depending on the presence or absence of the obstructed area, and control the movement of the moving body in accordance with the selected control method; and a second operation mode in which the controller controls the movement of the moving body in accordance with the first control method regardless of presence or absence of the obstructed area, and wherein the controller is configured to control the movement of the moving body in one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode in accordance with a user instruction.

5 . The control system according to claim 4 ,
wherein the moving body mounts an ink ejection head configured to eject ink droplets, the moving body being configured to perform, as a processing operation to process the object, an operation to form an image on the object by ejecting the ink droplets from the ink ejection head, and wherein the controller is configured to control the movement of the moving body in accordance with: the first operation mode when a first image quality is instructed, as the user instruction, by the user; and the second operation mode when a second image quality which is lower than the first image quality is instructed, as the user instruction, by the user, and wherein the controller controls the movement of the moving body and the ejection of the ink droplets such that the image is formed on the object with the instructed image quality by controlling the ejection of the ink droplets by the

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Arakane Satoru
• Hoga Masahiro
• Ichikawa Shohei
• Takahashi Eisuke

Classifications

• B41J19/207

  Encoding along a bar · CPC title

• B41J19/202 Primary

  Drive control means for carriage movement · CPC title

• B41J2/01

  Ink jet · CPC title