PURPOSE: To make it possible to dispense with the arrangement of a special detection device and detect or inform a residual amount of ink without any cost increase by detecting the residual amount of ink in accordance with the response variations of a controlled object.
CONSTITUTION: If there is ink in an ink tank 30 on a carriage 6 or in a jet head on the carriage 6, the mass of the carriage is larger than when it is not filled with ink. In addition, the gravitational center moves when the speed of the carriage is accelerated. Subsequently, if the same PWM value is given, the accelerated speed is lower than when the carriage is not filled with ink, resulting in the low response rate of a controlled object. Therefore, when the actual carriage speed is higher than a target speed, the presence of ink of the low-level residual amount of ink can be detected by comparing a value stored previously in ROM, that is, an estimated minimum PWM duty with a calculated PWM value. If the detection is made, 'no ink' flag provided in RAM is set to be ON. If the flag is ON, 'no residual ink' display lamp on a control panel 160 is turned ON to prompt a replacement of an ink tank 30.
NAKAGAWA YOSHIHIRO
KITAZAWA HIROAKI
NAKADA KAZUHIRO
NAGATOMO AKIRA
| JPS6457126A | 1989-03-03 | |||
| JPS6357238A | 1988-03-11 | |||
| JPS59135325A | 1984-08-03 |
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