Design of Paper Path Detection and Diagnostic System in Ink-Jet Printers Using an Observer-Based Technique

摘要

As the speed of paper feeding processes in anink-jet printer is increased, the paper feeding mechanisms areusually prone to induce some paper transport problems such aspaper jamming and slipping, and some mechanical problemssuch as gear cracking and chattering. Therefore, for ensuringprinting qualities and for preventing destructive damages, thepaper path detection in ink-jet printers is required. In this paper,we explore the feasibility of using speed perturbation observerto detect paper path situations in an ink-jet printer. Moreover,in comparing with the existing approaches, this paper presentsan approach without additional sensors. The speed perturbationobserver composed of a nominal plant, a low-pass filter, and anidentification unit is developed to detect paper path situationsduring paper feeding processes. The design concept is based onthe fact that external disturbances usually significantly affectthe speed performances of an axial mechanical system. Since thepaper feeding processes in ink-jet printers are equivalent to thatthe interaction among paper and paper feeding mechanismsexerts external disturbances on the driven motor, it isinteresting to detect paper path situations by estimating speedperturbations induced by different paper feeding actions. Theproposed approach is implemented on an ink-jet printer and twousual paper path situations are tested. The experimental resultsdemonstrate that the proposed approach can accurately respondto the different paper path situations caused by different paperfeeding actions.