# US 11,999,175 B2 · Printing apparatus and carriage apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,999,175 B2 - Document ID: US11999175B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/742,534 - Filed: 2022-05-12 - Published: 2022-11-17 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2021-05-13 - Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Tomohito Abe; Kenta Iimura; Kichinosuke Hirokawa; Akira Fujikake; Toshiaki Yamaguchi; Daigo Kuronuma; Masakazu Nagashima; Naoaki Wada; Ryohei Maruyama; Hideyuki Nozawa; Hiromasa Yoneyama - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999175B2 ## CPC - B41J 25/006: {for oscillating, e.g. page-width print heads provided with counter-balancing means or shock absorbers} - B41J 29/38: Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism - B41J 19/202: {Drive control means for carriage movement} - B41J 19/207: {Encoding along a bar} - B41J 19/142: {with a reciprocating print head printing in both directions across the paper width} - B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ## Abstract A printing apparatus includes a carriage mounted with a printing unit, a belt, a first motor configured to drive the belt at one end in a widthwise direction, a second motor configured to drive the belt at the other end in the widthwise direction, and a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor. The control unit performs first control by driving the first motor in which the carriage moves from a state in which the carriage is stopped. In the control, the second motor is controlled from a first state in which its torque is lower than that of the first motor to a second state in which its torque is higher than that in the first state. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A printing apparatus comprising: a carriage mounted with a printing unit configured to perform printing on a print medium; a belt configured to reciprocate the carriage in a widthwise direction of the print medium; a first motor configured to drive the belt at one end in the widthwise direction; a second motor configured to drive the belt at the other end in the widthwise direction; and a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor, wherein the control unit performs first control by driving the first motor in which the carriage moves from a state in which the carriage is stopped, and in the first control, the second motor is controlled from a first state in which an output torque of the second motor is lower than an output torque of the first motor to a second state in which the output torque of the second motor is higher than the output torque of the second motor in the first state. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the first control the carriage moves from a side of the first motor to a side of the second motor in the widthwise direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs second control in which the carriage moves from a state in which the carriage is stopped by driving the second motor, and in the second control, the first motor is controlled from a third state in which the output torque of the first motor is lower than the output torque of the second motor to a fourth state in which the output torque of the first motor is higher than the output torque of the first motor in the third state. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first control is performed when a movement direction of the carriage is a first movement direction, and the second control is performed when the movement direction of the carriage is a second movement direction. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first motor is not driven in the third state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the carriage is accelerated to a predetermined velocity and moves at the predetermined velocity in the second control, and in the second control, the first motor is controlled from the third state to the fourth state by a time when the carriage is accelerated to the predetermined velocity. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein in the second control, the first motor is controlled from the third state to the fourth state if the carriage has reached a threshold velocity lower than the predetermined velocity. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the carriage is decelerated and stopped after moving the carriage at the predetermined velocity in the second control, and during a period from a start of deceleration to a stop of the carriage in the second control, the first motor is controlled to a state in which the output torque of the first motor is lower than the output torque of the second motor. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first motor is not driven in the state. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second motor is not driven in the first state. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is accelerated to a predetermined velocity and moves at the predetermined velocity in the first control, and in the first control, the second motor is controlled from the first state to the second state by a time when the carriage is accelerated to the predetermined velocity. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein in the first control, the second motor is controlled from the first state to the second state if the carriage has reached a threshold velocity lower than the predetermined velocity. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the carriage is decelerated and stopped after moving at the predetermined velocity in the first control, and during a period from a start of deceleration to a stop of the carriage in the first control, the second motor is controlled to a state in which the output torque of the second motor is lower than the output torque of the first motor. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second motor is not driven in the state. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first motor and the second motor are the same product. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage moves in a first movement direction when the first motor rotates in a first rotation direction, the carriage moves in the first movement direction when the second motor rotates in a second rotation direction, the carriage moves in a second movement direction when the first motor rotates in a third rotation direction, the carriage moves in the second movement direction when the second motor rotates in a fourth rotation direction, and in the first control, the first motor does not rotate in the third rotation direction, and the second motor does not rotate in the fourth rotation direction. ### Claim 17 A printing apparatus comprising: a carriage mounted with a printing unit configured to perform printing on a print medium; a belt configured to reciprocate the carriage in a widthwise direction of the print medium; a first motor configured to drive the belt at one end in the widthwise direction; a second motor configured to drive the belt at the other end in the widthwise direction; and a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor, wherein the control unit performs control for driving the first motor and the second motor to move the carriage at a predetermined velocity and then decelerate and stop the carriage, and in the control, during a period from a start of deceleration to a stop of the carriage, one of the first motor or the second motor is controlled to a state in which an output torque of the one motor is lower than an output torque of the other motor. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the carriage moves in a first movement direction when the first motor rotates in a first rotation direction, the carriage moves in the first movement direction when the second motor rotates in a second rotation direction, the carriage moves in a second movement direction when the first motor rotates in a third rotation direction, the carriage moves in the second movement direction when the second motor rotates in a fourth rotation direction, and in the control, the first motor does not rotate in the third rotation direction, and the second motor does not rotate in the fourth rotation direction. ### Claim 19 A carriage apparatus comprising: a carriage; a belt configured to reciprocate the carriage in a widthwise direction of a print medium; a first motor configured to drive the belt at one end in the widthwise direction; a second motor configured to drive the belt at the other end in the widthwise direction; and a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor, wherein the control unit performs first control by driving the first motor in which the carriage moves from a state in which the carriage is stopped, and in the first control, the second motor is controlled from a first state in which an output torque of the second motor is lower than an output torque of the first motor to a second state in which the output torque of the second motor is higher than the output torque of the second motor in the first state. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the carriage moves in a first movement direction when the first motor rotates in a first rotation direction, the carriage moves in the first movement direction when the second motor rotates in a second rotation direction, the carriage moves in a second movement direction when the first motor rotates in a third rotation direction, the carriage moves in the second movement direction when the second motor rotates in a fourth rotation direction, and in the first control, the first motor does not rotate in the third rotation direction, and the second motor does not rotate in the fourth rotation direction.