Liquid circulation device and liquid discharge apparatus
AssigneeToshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorTaiki Goto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid circulation device includes a liquid chamber that stores a liquid that is to be supplied to a liquid discharge head. A pipeline through which the liquid can be circulated between the liquid chamber and the liquid discharge head is provided. A heater heats the liquid circulating in the pipeline. A first temperature sensor measures the temperature of the heater, and a second temperature sensor measures the temperature of the liquid in the pipeline. A controller controls the heating of the heater based on the liquid temperature measured by the second temperature sensor. The controller also monitors a change in the measured temperature of the heater over time and turns off the heating of the heater when the monitored change satisfies a predetermined stop condition.
Claims18
A liquid circulation device, comprising:
- a liquid chamber configured to store a liquid to be supplied to a liquid discharge head;
- a pipeline through which the liquid is circulated between the liquid chamber and the liquid discharge head;
- a heater configured to heat the liquid in the pipeline;
- a first temperature sensor to measure a temperature of the heater;
- a second temperature sensor to measure a temperature of the liquid in the pipeline;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- control the heater based on the temperature of the liquid as measured by the second temperature sensor, and
- monitor a change in the temperature of the heater over time as measured by the first temperature sensor and determine a rate of the change in the temperature of the heater per unit time and turn off the heater when the change satisfies a predetermined stop condition, wherein the change satisfies the predetermined stop condition when the rate of change exceeds a first threshold value.
A liquid discharge apparatus, comprising:
- a liquid discharge head configured to discharge a liquid;
- a liquid chamber configured to store the liquid to be supplied to the liquid discharge head;
- a pipeline through which the liquid is circulated between the liquid chamber and the liquid discharge head;
- a heater configured to heat the liquid in the pipeline;
- a first temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the heater;
- a second temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the liquid in the pipeline;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- control the heater based on the temperature of the liquid measured by the second temperature sensor, and
- monitor a change in the temperature of the heater over time as measured by the first temperature sensor and determine a rate of the change in the temperature of the heater per unit time and turn off the heater when the change satisfies a predetermined stop condition, wherein the change satisfies the predetermined stop condition when the rate of change exceeds a first threshold value.
A method for controlling a liquid circulation device, the method comprising:
- circulating a liquid from a liquid chamber to a liquid discharge head via a pipeline;
- heating the liquid in the pipeline using a heater;
- measuring a temperature of the heater using a first temperature sensor;
- measuring a temperature of the liquid in the pipeline using a second temperature sensor;
- controlling the heater based on the temperature of the liquid measured by the second temperature sensor;
- and
- monitoring a change in the temperature of the heater as measured by the first temperature sensor and determining a rate of change in the temperature of the heater measured by the first temperature sensor per unit time and turning off the heater when the change satisfies a predetermined stop condition, wherein
- the change satisfies the predetermined stop condition when the rate of change exceeds a first threshold value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.