Carriage apparatus, printing apparatus, and control method thereof

Abstract

A carriage apparatus characterized by comprising a carriage configured to reciprocally move in a predetermined direction, a first motor arranged on a side of one end of a range of movement of the carriage and configured to drive the carriage, a second motor arranged on a side of the other end of the range of movement of the carriage, configured to drive the carriage, and has the same kind of driving characteristics as driving characteristics of the first motor, detection means for detecting a position of the carriage related to the predetermined direction, and control means for controlling driving of the first motor and the second motor by feeding back a detection result detected by the detection means.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A carriage apparatus comprising:
 a carriage configured to reciprocally move in a predetermined direction;   a first motor arranged on a side of one end of a range of movement of the carriage and configured to drive the carriage;   a second motor arranged on a side of the other end of the range of movement of the carriage, configured to drive the carriage, and has the same kind of driving characteristics as driving characteristics of the first motor;   a detection unit configured to detect a position of the carriage related to the predetermined direction; and   a control unit configured to control driving of the first motor and the second motor by feeding back a detection result detected by the detection unit.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the detection unit includes
 a linear scale arranged to extend in a direction of movement of the carriage and includes slits formed at predetermined intervals, and   an encoder sensor arranged on the carriage and configured to detect the position of the carriage by moving with the carriage and reading the slits on the linear scale.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a driving unit configured to drive the first motor and the second motor based on a control signal output from the control unit,   wherein the driving unit transmits, based on the control signal, a driving signal to each of the first motor and the second motor.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the driving signal generated by the driving unit is generated based on the same control signal. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein one driving unit is arranged in common for the first motor and the second motor. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein two driving units are arranged in correspondence with the first motor and the second motor. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the first motor and the second motor are stopped by a brake signal output from the control unit. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the control unit drives the first motor and the second motor after canceling the stopped state of the first motor and the second motor set by the brake signal. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit performs control to move the carriage from an initial first position to a predetermined second position by driving at least one of the first motor and the second motor, and determines, based on the control result, whether the carriage is operating normally. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the control unit determines whether the first motor is operating normally by driving only the first motor and confirming whether the carriage is operating normally under the control, and
 the control unit determines whether the second motor is operating normally by driving only the second motor and confirming whether the carriage is operating normally under the control.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the control unit drives the first motor and the second motor to determine whether the carriage is operating normally under the control. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a notification unit configured to notify, based on the result of the determination, a user of an abnormality in the operation of the carriage.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus according to  claim 12 , wherein the notification unit further notifies the user of an abnormality in one of the first motor and the second motor. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein each of the determination as to whether the carriage is operating normally and the determination as to whether one of the first motor and the second motor is operating normally is performed by confirming, after the start of a motor driving operation, whether the carriage can move a predetermined distance in a predetermined time. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein each of the determination as to whether the carriage is operating normally and the determination as to whether one of the first motor and the second motor is operating normally is performed by confirming, after the start of a motor driving operation, whether the carriage has reached the second position at a predetermined time. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the first motor and the second motor is made not to operate by a reset signal output from the control unit. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first switch configured to set the driving of the first motor to ON or OFF; and   a second switch configured to set the driving of the second motor to ON or OFF,   wherein the control unit controls the first switch and the second switch.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a third switch and a fourth switch each configured to set a power supply of a corresponding one of the two driving units to ON or OFF, and   the control unit performs control to set each of the third switch and the fourth switch to ON or OFF.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein when a belt to be connected to the first motor, the second motor, and the carriage and a tube to be attached to the carriage are positioned at an approximate center of a maximum range of movement which can be moved by the carriage, the belt and the tube are wound to be approximately bilaterally symmetrical when viewed from one of the front and top direction with respect to the direction of movement of the carriage. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the first motor and the second motor are one of a set of DC motors having the same kind of driving characteristics and a set of stepper motors having the same kind of driving characteristics. 
     
     
         21 . A printing apparatus comprising:
 a carriage apparatus defined in  claim 1 ; and   a printhead mounted on a carriage.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus according to  claim 21 , further comprising:
 a tube connected to the printhead; and   a tube holding member configured to move together with the printhead and to guide the tube.   
     
     
         23 . The printing apparatus according to  claim 21 , further comprising:
 an ink tank configured to supply ink to the printhead,   wherein a reference of a position of the carriage is on a side of the ink tank.   
     
     
         24 . A control method of a carriage apparatus that includes a carriage configured to reciprocally move in a predetermined direction, a first motor arranged on a side of one end of a range of movement of the carriage and configured to drive the carriage, and a second motor arranged on a side of the other end of the range of movement of the carriage, configured to drive the carriage, and has the same kind of driving characteristics as driving characteristics of the first motor, the method comprising:
 detecting a position of the carriage related to the predetermined direction; and   controlling driving of the first motor and the second motor by feeding back a detection result detected in the detecting.