| (11) | EP 0 585 581 A3 |
(12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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(54) | Carriage motor controller for printer |
(57) A carriage motor controller for a printer. The controller includes a drive mechanism (3) for driving a carriage motor (1) to thereby cause a carriage to travel; a detector (7,9) for detecting a position and a speed of the carriage while the carriage is travelling; a measuring device (11,15,17,19) for measuring characteristics of the carriage motor on the basis of the detected position and speed; a storage device (25) for storing the measured characteristics; a first controller (21) for controlling the drive mechanism and causing the carriage to travel for the purpose of taking the necessary measurements, the measurements being taken after a power switch has been turned on, after a sheet has been fed, or after a predetermined time has elapsed; and a second controller (23) for controlling the drive mechanism upon reception of a print command on the basis of the print command and the stored characteristics to thereby cause the carriage to travel for printing. In such a controller, the measurements are made not only while the carriage is travelling for the sole purpose of taking the measurements, but also while the carriage is travelling for printing. Additionally, the stored characteristics are periodically updated in accordance with newly measured characteristics. |