JPH1024590A - Standardization of ink jet recording head, ink jet recording head used therefor, ink jet recording, and information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new type recording head which is characteristic of the separation of the interior of the recording head into two layers through a movable member while its interchangeability is maintained and a method a standardize an ink jet recording head designed in such a manner that the difference between the characteristics of this ink jet recording head and a conventional recording head. SOLUTION: When fitting a conventional recording head 210C to a new type recording device 200N, the recording head 210C is driven based on parameters prescribed for the recording head 210C in such a way that all operating steps are dealt with exclusively by the recording device 200N. When fitting a new type recording head 210W to a conventional recording device 200C, the new type recording head 210N is driven within the capability range of the recording device 200C. In addition, an identification means for identifying the type of a mounted recording head is provided on both recording devices 200N, 200C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording system for performing recording by discharging ink droplets onto a recording medium in accordance with recording data, and more particularly, to a recording characteristic or the like by using a different discharging principle. The present invention relates to a method of standardizing an inkjet print head in which compatibility between a plurality of types of inkjet print heads having different operation characteristics is maintained, and a print head, a printing method, and an information processing apparatus used in the standardization method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers, copiers, facsimile machines, etc.
Alternatively, a recording device used as a composite electronic device including a computer or a word processor or an output device of a workstation records an image on a recording material (recording medium) such as paper or a thin plastic plate based on image information. Is configured. Such recording apparatuses can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a method of forming an image on a recording medium. Further, they are also classified according to a scanning method for recording an image.

[0003] In a serial type recording apparatus employing a serial scan system in which a main scan is performed in a direction intersecting a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, a recording device mounted on a carriage moving along the recording material. The image is recorded (main scanning) by means, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (pitch conveyance) after the recording of one line is completed, and then the image of the next line is again transferred to the stopped recording material. By repeating the operation of recording (main scanning), recording of the entire recording material is performed. On the other hand, in a line-type recording apparatus that performs recording only by sub-scanning in the transport direction of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and after one line of recording is performed collectively, By performing a predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch conveyance) and repeating the operation of collectively recording the next line, the entire recording material is recorded.

[0004] Among the various recording apparatuses described above, an ink jet recording apparatus performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and it is easy to make the recording means compact. High-definition images can be recorded at high speed, recording can be performed on plain paper without special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise, and It has advantages such as easy recording of a color image using ink. Above all, a line-type apparatus in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further increase the recording speed. In particular, among ink jet type recording means (recording heads), those which discharge ink by using thermal energy include electrothermal transducers, electrodes, and liquid paths through semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering. By forming a wall, a top plate, and the like on a substrate, a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement) can be easily manufactured, and further downsizing can be achieved.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of such a conventional ink jet recording apparatus. This ink jet recording apparatus can be roughly classified into a sheet feeding unit 20 for placing a recording medium such as paper and a sheet material, a platen 39 and a conveyance roller 36 for feeding and discharging the recording medium, and a discharge unit. It comprises a feeding section provided with a paper roller 41, a carriage section 5 on which a recording head 7 for recording is mounted, and a cleaning section 6 for cleaning the recording head 7 of the carriage section 5 and performing a recovery operation. I have.

The cleaning unit 6 includes a pump 60 for cleaning the recording head 7, a cap 61 for capping the recording head 7 for preventing the recording head 7 from drying, and a paper feeding unit for supplying the driving force from the transport roller 36. 20 or a drive switching arm 62 for switching to the pump 60. The drive switching arm 62 fixes a planetary gear (not shown) that rotates around the axis of the transport roller 36 at a predetermined position at times other than paper feeding or cleaning. The driving force of the roller 36 is not transmitted. When the carriage 50 described later moves, the drive switching arm 62 is moved.
Is moved in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 1, the planetary gears become free, and the planetary gears move in accordance with the forward and reverse rotations of the transport roller 36. The driving force is transmitted to the pump 20, and when the rotation is reversed, the driving force is transmitted to the pump 60. In the case where printing is not performed for a long period of time, the viscosity of the ink in the ejection openings of the recording head 7 becomes high, which causes ejection failure. However, here, the ejection opening surface of the recording head 7 is covered with the cap 61. By sucking the inside of the cap 61 by the pump 60, ink remaining in the ejection port and having increased viscosity is removed, and the ejection performance of the recording head 7 returns to the original state, thereby performing recovery.

The carriage section 5 has a carriage 50 as mounting means on which the recording head 7 is removably mounted. The carriage 50 is slidably fitted to a guide shaft 81 and a guide rail 82 attached to the chassis 8 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet material conveyance direction. Further, the carriage 50 is coupled to a portion of a timing belt 83 that is wrapped around a pulley fixed to an output shaft of a carriage motor 80 fixed to the chassis 8 and an idle pulley 84 that is rotatably supported. The recording head 7 reciprocates in the direction along the guide shaft 81 by the driving force of the carriage motor 80.

Next, the recording head 7 to be mounted on the carriage 50 will be described. FIGS. 2A to 2D show the configuration of a recording head integrated with an ink tank.

The recording head 7 is of a cartridge type in which a head unit 71 for discharging ink and an ink tank 73 for storing ink to be supplied to the head unit 71 are integrated, and discharges ink downward in the drawing. It has become. A sponge impregnated with ink is packed in the ink tank 73. The head unit 71 includes a base plate 72 made of aluminum,
It is composed of a silicon plate, a head substrate, a liquid chamber for temporarily storing ink, an ink filter, an ink supply pipe 80 for supplying ink from the ink tank 73 to the liquid chamber, and the like. The silicon plate and the head substrate are provided on a base plate 72. In the silicon plate, a plurality of nozzles (discharge ports) 70 are provided in a line at a density of, for example, 360 nozzles / inch, and a heater element, an electrode, and an electric wiring for generating thermal energy for ink discharge are formed. The arrangement direction of the ejection ports 70 is inclined by 1 ° to 4 ° from the vertical with respect to the main scanning direction of the recording head 7 for driving reasons. Therefore, the head unit 71 is inclined with respect to the ink tank 73. It is held and attached.

Here, the configuration of the head unit 71 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the discharge port 70 of the head unit 71. Head unit 71
Each of the plurality of ejection ports 70 is formed at a predetermined pitch on an ejection port surface 70a facing the recording medium at a predetermined interval, and each liquid communicates with the common liquid chamber 70c and each of the ejection ports 70. An electrothermal converter (e.g., a heating resistor) 70e for generating ink ejection energy along the wall of the path 70d.
Are arranged. The common liquid chamber 70c has an ink tank 73
(See FIG. 2), and the common liquid chamber 70c is configured to be supplied with ink from the ink tank 73. The ink supplied from the ink tank 73 to the common liquid chamber 70c and temporarily stored therein is transferred to the liquid path 70c by capillary action.
d, a meniscus is formed at the discharge port 70b, and the liquid path 70d is kept filled. At this time, when the electrothermal transducer 70e is energized and generates heat based on the recording signal, which is an electrical signal, the ink on the electrothermal transducer 70e is rapidly heated to cause film boiling and bubbles are generated in the liquid passage 70d. The ink is ejected from the ejection port 70 by the expansion of the bubble. Here, the electrothermal converter 70e is shown as an energy generating element for generating energy, but is not limited thereto.
A piezoelectric element that generates mechanical energy that instantaneously applies a discharge pressure may be used. An electric signal for energizing the electrothermal transducer 70e is supplied from an electric board (not shown) for controlling the operation of the recording apparatus via a flexible board 56 (see FIG. 1) provided on the carriage 50. Can be

The recording head 7 configured as described above is mounted on the carriage section 5 of the ink jet recording apparatus and driven in the main scanning direction. Hereinafter, the configuration of the carriage unit 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the carriage section 5, the detachable portion of the recording head 7 includes a carriage 50, a head holder 51, a base cover 52, a hook lever 53, a contact spring 54, a hook cover 55,
It is composed of a flexible substrate 56 and a rubber pad 57.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the head holder 51 mounts the recording head 7 along a guide 501 provided on the carriage 50 and is configured to slide left and right. I have. The head holder 51 has a guide portion 511 for guiding the recording head 7 and a pressing portion 5 for pressing the recording head 7 against the contact surface 503 and the positioning surface 504 of the side plate 502 erected perpendicular to the carriage 50.
12 are provided. Side plate 502 of carriage 50
There are three positioning surfaces. Two points on the base plate 72 near the nozzles 70 of the recording head 7 and one point above the ink tank 73 of the recording head 7 are configured to correspond to this positioning surface.

The contact surface 503 of the carriage 50 with respect to the recording head 7 is configured to be located inside a triangle formed by three points of the positioning surface 504.
The pressing position of the pressing portion 512 of the head holder 51 is also inside this triangle. A guide arm 513 is provided at a position opposing the pressing portion 512 of the head holder 51. The guide arm 513 acts on the recording head 7 when the recording head 7 is separated from the contact surface 503.

The hook lever 53 is rotatably attached to the side plate 502 of the carriage 50. A contact spring 54 is provided at the center of rotation of the hook lever 53, and urges the hook lever 53 in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure. The hook cover 55 is attached so as to cover the hook lever 53, and holds the hook cover 53 so as not to come off the carriage 50. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the hook lever 53 and the head holder 51 have cams 516 and 531 respectively contacting each other.
The rotation of the hook lever 53 causes the head holder 51 to move in the left-right direction. Further, the urging force of the contact spring 54 is a head pressing force of the head holder 51 via the hook lever 53.

On the side plate 502 of the carriage 50, fitting pins 505a and 505b corresponding to the fitting holes 77a and 77b of the base plate 72 of the head 7 are provided for positioning the recording head 7, so that accurate positioning is achieved. It is configured to do so. FIG. 6 is a view of the carriage unit 15 as viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 7, the contact surface 503 provided on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50 has a silicone rubber having a rubber hardness of 30 ° to 50 ° in order to establish electrical contact with the recording head 7. A rubber pad 57 made of an elastic material such as is provided. And, on the rubber pad 57, a contact portion 561 is formed in which a conductive portion of the flexible substrate 56 is formed into a convex shape by performing forming. As described above, when the recording head 7 is mounted and the base plate 72 of the recording head 7 comes into contact with the positioning surface 504 of the carriage 50, the rubber pad 57 is deformed by a fixed amount, so that the flexible substrate 56 is deformed. And a reliable electrical contact between the recording head 7 and the contact surface 78 is realized. The electrical contact allows the signal line and the power line to be connected to each other between the recording head 7 and the recording apparatus main body, and enables the main body to recognize the ID indicating the type of the recording head. The main body side can read the value detected by the temperature sensor provided in the main body.

In the above-described configuration, when an image is formed on the sheet material P, the sheet material P is conveyed to the row position where the image is formed by the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 and the carriage 50 is formed by the carriage motor 80 on the column where the image is formed. The sheet P is moved to a position (a position in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the sheet P) so that the position where the image of the sheet P is to be formed is opposed to the recording head 7. Thereafter, the head unit 7 of the recording head 7 is operated by a recording signal from the electric board.
An image is formed by discharging ink from No. 1 toward the sheet material P.

With the above structure, the recording head 7 is detached from the carriage section 5, held, positioned, electrically connected, and the like, and high quality (HQ; high quality), high speed (HS; high speed), and the like are achieved. The recording head 7 is driven at a predetermined driving frequency according to various print modes, and recording is performed. In addition, it is possible to cope with various types of recording by replacing the recording head mounted on the carriage unit 5. For example. By changing the type, a single-color recording head (monochrome-compatible head) for monochrome recording, a nozzle row and an ink tank are divided into four, and each tank is made to correspond to each color of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. By preparing a color-compatible head and mounting a monochrome-compatible head when performing only monochrome recording, and by mounting a color-compatible head when performing color recording, desired recording can be performed. At this time, the ID (type) of the recording head is detected, the recording apparatus main body recognizes the type of the recording head, and switches the control according to the mounted head, so that drive control, image processing, and reliability control are performed. , Print control and the like are optimized. Specifically, drive conditions (drive voltage, drive pulse, drive frequency, drive pulse width control (PWM control), drive method, etc.), recovery conditions and recovery sequence (suction, preliminary discharge, wiping, etc.), print control (Paper feed, mask, number of passes, color processing, gamma correction, etc.), abnormal operation handling (abnormal high temperature control), etc. are optimized.

As the bubble jet technology is used for products in various fields, in recent years, the following requirements have been further increased.

For example, optimization of a heating element, such as adjusting the thickness of a protective film, is mentioned as a study on the demand for improvement of energy efficiency. This method is effective in improving the efficiency of transmitting generated heat to a liquid such as ink. Further, in order to obtain a high-quality image, a driving condition has been proposed for providing a liquid discharging method or the like capable of performing a good ink discharge based on the stable bubble generation with a high ink discharging speed. Further, from the viewpoint of high-speed recording, there has been proposed a liquid discharge head having an improved flow path shape in order to obtain a liquid discharge head having a high filling (refilling) speed of liquid into a liquid flow path after discharge.

Among these various proposed flow path shapes, the flow path structure shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is disclosed in
No. 99972. The flow path structure and the head manufacturing method described in this publication are based on a back wave (pressure in the direction opposite to the direction toward the discharge port, that is, in the direction toward the liquid chamber 12) generated by the generation of bubbles. Pressure). Since this back wave is not energy directed toward the ejection direction, it is known as energy loss.

In the flow path shapes shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a heating element (heating element) 2 is provided on an element substrate 1, and
A valve 90 is provided at a position farther from the region where bubbles are formed by the heating element 2 and on the opposite side of the heating element 2 from the discharge port 18. This valve 90 has an initial position, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), attached to the ceiling of the liquid flow path 10 by a manufacturing method using a plate material or the like. It hangs down into 10. In the invention shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a part of the back wave described above is controlled by the valve 90, and the progress of the back wave to the upstream side is suppressed, so that the energy loss is suppressed. . However, as will be understood from a detailed examination of the process in which bubbles are generated, the flow path 10 holding the liquid to be discharged is known.
It is not practical for the liquid ejection to provide a valve 90 inside to suppress a part of the back wave. That is, the back wave itself is not directly related to the ejection as described above. At the time when this back wave is generated in the flow path 10, as shown in FIG. 8A, the pressure directly related to the discharge among the bubbles has already enabled the liquid to be discharged from the flow path 10. Therefore, it is apparent that the suppression of the back wave and its part does not significantly affect the ejection.

Further, in the above-described conventional ink jet recording method, since the heating element repeatedly generates heat while being in contact with the ink, deposits due to scorching of the ink are generated on the surface of the heating element. Due to the generation of a large amount of deposits, the generation of air bubbles was destabilized, and it was sometimes difficult to perform good ink ejection. Also, in the case where the liquid to be discharged is a liquid which is easily deteriorated by heat or a liquid in which foaming is difficult to obtain sufficiently,
There has been a demand for a method for satisfactorily discharging a liquid to be discharged without deteriorating the quality thereof. From such a viewpoint, a liquid that generates bubbles by heat (foaming liquid) and a liquid that is discharged (discharge liquid)
And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-69467 discloses a method of discharging a discharge liquid by transmitting a pressure due to foaming to the discharge liquid.
And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-81172 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,259.
In these publications, the ink, which is the ejection liquid, and the foaming liquid are completely separated by a flexible film such as silicon rubber so that the ejection liquid does not come into direct contact with the heating element, and the pressure due to the foaming of the foaming liquid is controlled. The configuration is such that the liquid is transmitted to the discharge liquid by deformation of the flexible film. Such a configuration achieves prevention of deposits on the surface of the heating element, improvement in the degree of freedom in selecting the liquid to be discharged, and the like.

However, as described above, in the head having a structure in which the discharge liquid and the foaming liquid are completely separated, the pressure at the time of foaming is transmitted to the discharge liquid by expansion and contraction of the flexible film. Is considerably absorbed by the flexible membrane. In addition, since the deformation amount of the flexible film is not so large, the effect of separating the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid can be obtained, but there is a possibility that the energy efficiency and the ejection force may be reduced.

[0025]

As described above, in the method of discharging bubbles by forming bubbles (particularly bubbles accompanying film boiling) in the liquid flow path, it is desired to further improve the discharge characteristics. Therefore, the present inventors return to the principle of droplet discharge and analyze the principle of the mechanism of the movable member in the flow path in order to provide a novel droplet discharge method using bubbles and a head used therefor. The first technical analysis starting from the operation of the movable member in the liquid flow path and the second technical analysis starting from the principle of droplet discharge by bubbles, and furthermore, the bubble formation of the heating element for bubble formation A third technical analysis starting from the region was performed. As a result, the fundamental ejection characteristics in the method of ejecting liquid by forming bubbles (especially bubbles due to film boiling) in the liquid flow path to a level which cannot be predicted conventionally from a viewpoint which could not be considered conventionally. Made it possible to increase.

That is, the present inventors have made the above-described analysis that the arrangement relationship between the fulcrum and the free end of the movable member is such that the free end is located on the discharge port side, that is, on the downstream side. Alternatively, a completely new technology for actively controlling bubbles by arranging them facing the bubble generation region was established, and an invention based on this newly obtained technology was filed as a patent. Specifically, considering the energy that the bubble itself gives to the discharge amount, considering the growth component on the downstream side of the bubble is the largest factor that can significantly improve the discharge characteristics, that is, the downstream side of the bubble. It has been found that the efficient conversion of the growth component in the discharge direction leads to the improvement of the discharge efficiency and the discharge speed. Therefore, the growth component on the downstream side of the bubble is positively moved to the free end side of the movable member. As a result, an invention of a very high technical level as compared with the conventional liquid ejection method has been completed. In the present invention, a heat generation region for forming bubbles, for example, downstream from a center line passing through the area center of the electrothermal transducer in the flow direction of the liquid, or downstream of bubbles such as the area center on the surface that controls bubble formation. It has also been found that it is preferable to consider structural elements such as a movable member and a liquid flow path involved in growth.

Furthermore, the present inventors consider the structure of the liquid flow path and the shape of the heating element in addition to the above-described technique, thereby further improving the ejection force and improving the back wave and the liquid supply direction. This has led to the development of an epoch-making technology that further suppresses the growth component of bubbles in the direction of, and makes the flow of the discharged liquid unidirectional.

Incidentally, an ink jet recording head based on such a new ejection principle is different from a conventional ink jet recording head as described in the section of the prior art section in physical properties such as viscosity of a liquid (ink) to be ejected. The values, drive conditions for discharge (voltage, drive frequency, etc.), and resolution are different. Therefore, an ink jet recording head based on this new ejection principle (hereinafter, referred to as a new type ink jet recording head) makes the most of its features by being attached to a dedicated new type ink jet recording apparatus and used. Can be used. In the following description, only a so-called cartridge type ink jet recording head in which an ink tank and a head unit are integrated into a disposable type, for example, will be considered as the ink jet recording head.

Although a new type of ink jet recording head should be mounted on a new type of recording apparatus (similarly, a conventional type recording head should be mounted on a conventional type recording head in its original form). A), in the event of an ink shortage, etc., a conventional ink jet recording head may be mounted on this new type of recording device, or a new type of recording head may be mounted on a conventional type of ink jet recording device. It is desirable to be able to surpass. That is, it is desired that compatibility between a new type recording head or recording apparatus and a conventional type recording head or recording apparatus be maintained. At this time, it is preferable to maintain compatibility with a new or old printer driver for driving the recording apparatus based on the image data.

However, simply changing the shape of the portion of the recording head engaged with the carriage of the recording apparatus to be the same between the new type and the conventional type does not improve the compatibility between the two types. It is not possible to perform or achieve recording under the recording conditions under which the conditions such as image quality, recording speed and reliability are the best within the range of the given combination of the image and the recording device. Specifically, in the following points, there still remain obstacles for improving compatibility and achieving good recording.

Compatibility of the contact part of the recording head: a contact layout for utilizing the high performance of the new recording head while having a common terminal with the conventional head;
The number of contact pads is not considered.

Driving condition compatibility: New type recording heads have improved driving frequency and resolution as compared with conventional type recording heads. Then, in terms of head control, inconsistency may occur with a conventional recording head.

Compatibility of recovery conditions, recovery sequence (recovery by suction, preliminary discharge, wiping of discharge port surface), etc .: Because the flow path configuration and the ink used are different, the suction conditions are different, and a new recording head is used. There is also a case where a contradiction arises between the recovery sequence of the conventional recording head and that of the conventional recording head. Further, as described later, there are a new type of recording head having a one-passage configuration and a two-passage configuration, and the suction conditions and the like may differ between these types.

Compatibility of print control (paper feed, mask, number of passes, color processing, γ correction, etc.): Changes in the state of the recorded image (color, γ value, dot diameter, texture, etc.) due to changes in ink, resolution, etc. ) May be inconsistent.

Compatibility for abnormal operation (excessive high temperature control, ink drop from ejection port, non-ejection detection, etc.): Different heat, heat capacity, heat radiation, sensor characteristics, etc. due to different recording head structure, and abnormal detection Cannot be shared, and contradictions may occur.

In a new type ink jet recording head based on the above-described new ejection principle, the internal structure
The liquid supplied to the region on the discharge port side across the movable member described above is mainly discharged, and the liquid supplied to the region on the bubble generation region side from the movable member is mainly used for discharging. Used to form air bubbles. In such a new type of ink jet recording head, it is possible to separately supply a discharge liquid to be mainly discharged and a foaming liquid used to form bubbles for discharge. The discharge liquid may be the same liquid or a different liquid. Therefore, in the case where the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid are separated in the internal structure of the recording head and in the case where the ejection liquid and the foaming liquid are not separated, the new recording heads are not compatible with each other in terms of compatibility such as the above-described driving conditions and abnormal operation. May cause inconsistency.

When the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are different liquids, the operation characteristics differ depending on whether the two liquids are liquids that can be mixed with each other or not. It is conceivable that inconsistencies may arise between new-type recording heads in terms of compatibility (e.g., correspondence). In particular, it is conceivable to improve the color development and fixability of the ink on the recording medium by including mutually reactive components in the foaming liquid and the ejection liquid. Care must also be taken regarding the compatibility of When the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are separated, it is possible to use a considerably high-viscosity liquid for the discharge liquid.However, in that case, thoroughly consider the recovery conditions and the compatibility of the sequence. Must be added.

As described above, between a new type recording head and a conventional type recording device, between a conventional type recording head and a new type recording device, and various new type recording devices. In order to maintain compatibility between the heads and to perform the best printing on the basis of a given combination of a printhead and a printing apparatus, there are still many problems to be solved.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a novel feature characterized in that the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for standardizing an ink jet print head which makes the most of the difference in characteristics between a conventional print head and a conventional print head.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a new type of printer characterized by the fact that the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. It is an object of the present invention to provide a standardization method for resolving a contradiction in drive control between a conventional recording head and a conventional recording head, and a recording apparatus that resolves the contradiction.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a novel type which is characterized in that the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. It is an object of the present invention to provide a standardization method for resolving inconsistency in recovery control between a print head of the related art and a conventional type of print head, and a recording apparatus that resolves the inconsistency.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a new type of printer characterized by the fact that the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. It is an object of the present invention to provide a standardization method for resolving inconsistency in print control between a conventional print head and a conventional print head, and a recording apparatus that resolves the inconsistency.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a novel type characterized by the fact that the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. The present invention is to provide a standardization method for resolving inconsistencies in various detection results for coping with abnormal operation between a recording head of the related art and a conventional recording head, and a recording apparatus that resolves the inconsistency. .

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a novel type wherein the inside of the recording head is separated into two layers via a movable member such as the recording head while maintaining compatibility. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer driver that resolves inconsistencies in the user interface (corresponding to a recording medium, setting of a resolution, a recording method, and the like) between a recording head and a conventional recording head.

[0045]

According to the method for standardizing an ink jet head of the present invention, a first ink jet recording head for discharging ink under a first driving condition can be mounted, and only the first driving condition is supplied. For a market system including a first inkjet recording apparatus having a supply unit, the ink is mounted on a second inkjet recording apparatus different from the first inkjet recording apparatus under a second driving condition different from the first driving condition. A second inkjet recording head that has superior ejection performance than the first inkjet recording device, can be mounted on the first inkjet recording device, and can eject ink even under the first driving condition. It is characterized by providing.

In the above-described method for standardizing an ink jet recording head, the second ink jet recording head typically includes a discharge port for discharging a liquid, a bubble generation region for generating bubbles in the liquid, and a bubble generation region. And a movable member displaceable between a first position and a second position farther from the bubble generation region than the first position, wherein the movable member is disposed in the bubble generation region. A device that displaces a liquid by displacing a bubble from a first position to a second position by a pressure based on the generation of a bubble and expanding the bubble greatly downstream from a direction toward a discharge port by displacement of a movable member; A heating element that generates bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and has a free end provided on the discharge port side facing the heating element, based on pressure generated by the bubbles. Free end One having a movable member that displaces and guides pressure to the discharge port side, and a supply path that supplies liquid onto the heating element from the upstream side along a surface of the movable member close to the heating element, or that is connected to the discharge port. A first liquid flow path, a second liquid flow path having a heating element and having a bubble generation region that generates bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and a first liquid flow path facing the heating element. A free end is disposed between the liquid flow path and the bubble generation area, has a free end on the discharge port side, and displaces the free end to the first liquid flow path side based on pressure due to the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation area. And a movable member for guiding the pressure to the discharge port side of the first liquid flow path.

The ink jet recording head according to the present invention has a discriminating means for discriminating the type of the ink jet recording head mounted on the mounting portion on which the ink jet recording head can be exchangeably mounted. In accordance with the type of the ink jet recording head, in the ink jet recording head used in the ink jet recording system having at least a setting means for giving an optimum setting condition as much as possible, it engages with the contact surface provided on the mounting portion. And at least information on the type of ink jet print head can be transmitted to the ink jet print system by serial data communication via a specific contact on the contact surface.

This ink jet recording head is provided with a sensor for detecting temperature and rank means for holding a value for characteristic correction, so that the measured value of the sensor and the value for characteristic correction are transmitted by serial data transfer. Can be

The ink jet recording method of the present invention is an ink jet recording method in an ink jet recording system for forming an image on a recording medium by discharging ink from a discharge port provided in an ink jet recording head. At least two types of ink jet recording heads, ie, a first ink jet recording head having a first recording characteristic and a second ink jet recording head having a second recording characteristic different from the first recording characteristic, are exchangeably mounted. Using a mounting portion that can be placed, and a device having a discriminating means for discriminating the type of the ink jet recording head placed on the mounting portion, and according to the discrimination result of the discriminating device, the device is placed on the mounting portion. Restrictions on the combination of the existing inkjet recording head and inkjet recording system Performing recording at an optimum recording condition in 該制 about conditions in. In this case, if the first recording characteristics are relatively superior to the second recording characteristics, and the ink jet recording system cannot fully exhibit the recording characteristics of the first ink jet recording head, It is preferable to display the message to the user and record.

The information processing apparatus of the present invention is used in the ink jet recording system of the present invention, and is mounted on the mounting section in an information processing apparatus for outputting print data to a printing apparatus including the mounting section. A printer driver that receives information about the type of the inkjet printhead from the printing apparatus and performs image processing according to the type of the inkjet printhead placed on the printer;

Other effects of the present invention will be understood from the following description of the embodiments of the present invention.

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” used in the description of the present invention refer to the flow direction of the liquid from the liquid supply source to the discharge port through the bubble generation region (or movable member).
Alternatively, it is expressed as an expression regarding this structural direction.

The “downstream side” of the bubble itself is as follows:
It mainly represents a portion on the ejection port side of a bubble which is considered to directly act on ejection of a droplet. More specifically, with respect to the center of the bubble, the downstream side with respect to the flow direction and the structural direction,
Alternatively, it means bubbles generated in a region downstream of the area center of the heating element.

In the present invention, “recording” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern. Is what it means.

[0055]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<< Overview >> The ink jet recording system according to the present embodiment according to the present invention employs the above-mentioned “prior art”.
And a conventional ink jet recording head based on the new ejection principle described in the above-mentioned "Problems to be Solved by the Invention" section, and a conventional ink jet recording head Maintain compatibility between a conventional recording device (printer) that is originally compatible with an ink jet recording head and a new recording device for a new type of ink jet recording head. In accordance with the combination with the recording device, the best recording in the combination is performed. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a combination variation of these recording heads and recording apparatuses. As the recording apparatus, the same inkjet recording apparatus as that described with reference to FIG. 1 is used. As will be described later, the recording apparatus generally includes a mechanical system,
A hardware part such as an electric circuit system including a control circuit,
It consists of a software part consisting of a program executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip included in the hardware part, and this software is a replaceable RO.
M (read only memory) or EPROM (electrically erasable R
OM) or flash memory.

Both the conventional recording apparatus 200C and the new recording apparatus 200N are connected to the host computer 300 and receive print data from the host computer 300. These recording devices 200C,
Both the conventional print head 210C and the new print head 210N can be mounted on the 200N. That is, the shape of the conventional recording head 210C and the configuration of the conventional recording device 200C are adjusted so that the conventional recording head 210C is received by the carriage unit 5 (see FIG. 1) of the conventional recording device 200C. Although the shape of the carriage portion is determined, a new recording head 210
The shape of N is determined so as to be received by the carriage portion of the conventional recording apparatus 200C, and the new recording apparatus 2
The shape of 00N corresponds to both recording heads 210C and 210N.
Both are defined to be acceptable.
The distinction between the conventional type and the new type in the recording device is based on the assumption that the operating voltage and drive signal for the recording head are designed on the assumption of the conventional type recording head or that they are most suitable for the new type recording head. Is it being done. In FIG. 9, the combination of the recording head and the recording device is indicated by an arrow.

It should be noted here that there is no new recording head at the time of designing a conventional recording device, and that a new recording head does not exist in the hardware design of a conventional recording device. That is not reflected at all. Therefore, when the new recording head 210N is mounted on the conventional recording apparatus 200C, whether the new recording head 210N is driven under the same conditions as when the conventional recording head 210C is mounted. The only alternative is to replace the software so that it can be driven under conditions corresponding to the new recording head 210N (within the limitations of the hardware).

<< New type of recording head (single liquid flow path configuration) >>
Here, before describing the recording system of the present embodiment,
A description will be given of a new type of recording head assumed in the present embodiment, that is, a liquid ejection head based on the above-described new ejection principle. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of such a liquid discharge head cut in the liquid flow direction, and FIG.
Shows a partially broken perspective view of the liquid discharge head.
Here, a liquid discharge head having a so-called one-liquid flow path structure that does not distinguish between a discharge liquid and a foaming liquid will be described first.

In this liquid discharge head, as a discharge energy generating element for discharging the liquid, a heating element 2 (here, 40 μm × 105) for applying thermal energy to the liquid.
A heating resistor having a shape of μm) is provided on the element substrate 1.
Is arranged. The liquid flow path 10 communicates with the discharge port 18 and also communicates with a common liquid chamber 13 for supplying the liquid to the plurality of liquid flow paths 10, and an amount of liquid corresponding to the liquid discharged from the discharge port. From the common liquid chamber 13.

A plate-shaped movable member 31 made of an elastic material such as metal and having a flat portion is provided on the element substrate of the liquid flow path 10 so as to face the heating element 2.
Are provided in a cantilever shape. One end of the movable member is fixed to a base (supporting member) 34 formed by patterning a photosensitive resin or the like on the wall of the liquid flow path 10 or the element substrate. Thus, the movable member 31 is held and forms a fulcrum (fulcrum portion) 33.

The movable member 31 has a fulcrum (fulcrum portion; fixed end) 33 on the upstream side of a large flow flowing from the common liquid chamber 13 through the movable member 31 to the discharge port 18 by the liquid discharging operation. 33 is disposed at a position facing the heating element 2 at a distance of about 15 μm from the heating element so as to cover the heating element 2 so as to have a free end (free end portion) 32 on the downstream side with respect to 33. I have. A space between the heating element and the movable member is a bubble generation area. Note that the types, shapes, and arrangements of the heating element and the movable member are not limited thereto, and may be any shape and arrangement that can control the growth of bubbles and the propagation of pressure as described later. Note that the above-described liquid flow path 10
In order to explain the flow of the liquid to be discussed later, the movable member 31
The portion directly connected to the discharge port 18 with the boundary as the first liquid flow path 14, and the second liquid flow path 16 having the bubble generation area 11 and the liquid supply path 12, these two areas (the first liquid flow path 14). The description will be made separately for the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16).

By causing the heating element 2 to generate heat, the movable member 3
Heat is applied to the liquid in the bubble generation region 11 between the heating element 1 and the heating element 2 to generate bubbles in the liquid based on the film boiling phenomenon as described in US Pat. No. 4,723,129.
The pressure based on the generation of the bubbles and the bubbles act on the movable member 31 preferentially, and the movable member 31 is moved around the fulcrum 33 on the discharge port side as shown in FIG. 10 (b), (c) or FIG. It is displaced so as to open greatly. Depending on the displacement or the displaced state of the movable member 31, the propagation of the pressure based on the generation of the bubbles and the growth of the bubbles themselves are guided to the ejection port 18 side.

Here, a basic one of the above-described ejection principles will be described. One of the most important principles here is that the movable member 31 arranged so as to face the bubble is at a position after displacement from the first position in the steady state based on the pressure of the bubble or the bubble itself. 2 and the movable member 31 that is displaced guides the pressure accompanying the generation of bubbles and the bubbles themselves to the downstream side where the discharge ports 18 are arranged.

A comparison between FIG. 12 schematically showing a conventional liquid flow path structure using no movable member and FIG. The ejection principle will be described in more detail. Here, the propagation direction of the pressure in the direction of the discharge port is shown as V _A , and the propagation direction of the pressure in the upstream side is shown as V _B.

In the conventional head as shown in FIG. 12, there is no structure for regulating the direction of pressure propagation by the generated air bubbles 40. For this reason, the pressure propagation directions due to the formation of the bubbles 40 are, as shown by V _{1 to} V ₈ , respectively.
It is the normal direction of the surface and faces various directions. Of these, those having a component in the pressure propagation direction in the _VA direction that has the greatest effect on liquid ejection are V _{1 to} V ₄ , that is, pressure propagation direction components in a portion closer to the ejection port than a position substantially half of the bubble. These are important parts that directly contribute to the discharge efficiency, the discharge force, the discharge speed, and the like. Further, since V ₁ is closest to the direction of the discharge direction _VA , it works efficiently,
₄ has a relatively small directional component toward _VA .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When the movable member is provided based on the principle described above, FIG.
Bubbles in various directions in the conventional case shown in
Pressure propagation direction V₁~ V_FourIs moved downstream by the movable member 31.
Side (discharge port side) _AConverted to the pressure propagation direction
As a result, the pressure of the bubble 40 is directly and efficiently discharged.
Will contribute. And the bubble growth direction itself
Also the pressure propagation direction V₁~ V_FourGuided downstream in the same way as
It grows larger downstream than upstream. Thus, the formation of bubbles
The longitudinal direction itself is controlled by the movable member 31, and the pressure of the bubble is controlled.
By controlling the propagation direction, the ejection efficiency, ejection force and ejection
A fundamental improvement in speed and the like can be achieved.

Returning to FIG. 10, the discharge operation of the liquid discharge head will be described in detail.

FIG. 10A shows a state before energy such as electric energy is applied to the heating element 2.
Is a state before generating heat. The important thing here is that
The movable member 31 is provided at a position facing at least a downstream portion of the bubble 40 generated by the heat generated by the heating element 2. That is, the bubble 40
In the liquid flow path structure, at least downstream of the area center 3 of the heating element (downstream of a line passing through the area center 3 of the heating element 2 and orthogonal to the length direction of the flow path) so that the downstream side of the element acts on the movable member. The movable member 31 is arranged up to the position.

FIG. 10 (b) shows that the heating element 2 generates heat when electric energy or the like is applied to the heating element 2 and a part of the liquid filling the bubble generation region 11 is heated by the generated heat.
This shows a state in which bubbles are generated due to film boiling. At this time, the movable member 31 is displaced from the first position to the second position by the pressure based on the generation of the bubble 40 so as to guide the propagation direction of the pressure of the bubble 40 toward the discharge port. What is important here is that the free end 32 of the movable member 31
Is disposed on the downstream side (discharge port side), the fulcrum 33 is disposed on the upstream side (common liquid chamber side), and at least a part of the movable member 31 is located downstream of the heating element 2, that is, the bubble 40.
Is to face the downstream part.

FIG. 10C shows a state in which the bubble 40 has further grown. Here, the movable member 31 is further displaced in accordance with the pressure caused by the generation of the bubble 40. The generated bubble 40 grows greatly from the upstream to the downstream, and grows greatly beyond the first position (dotted line position) of the movable member 31. As described above, the movable member 31 is gradually displaced in accordance with the growth of the bubble 40, so that the bubble 40
The fact that the pressure propagation direction and the direction in which the volume can easily move, that is, the direction in which the bubbles grow toward the free end side, can be uniformly directed to the discharge port 18, is also considered to increase the discharge efficiency. The movable member 31 hardly hinders the transmission of the bubbles and the pressure waves accompanying the bubble formation toward the discharge port, and the direction of the pressure and the growth of the bubbles depend on the magnitude of the propagating pressure. The direction can be controlled efficiently.

FIG. 10D shows that the ejected droplet 45 is flying and the bubble 40 is formed after the film boiling described above.
This shows a state in which the bubbles contract and disappear due to a decrease in the pressure inside the bubbles. In this state, electric energy is no longer applied to the heating element 2 (at least, no more energy is supplied than necessary to maintain the bubbles). The movable member 31 that has been displaced to the second position is
The movable member 31 returns to the initial position (first position) shown in FIG. In addition, at the time of defoaming, the bubble generation region 11
In order to compensate for the shrinkage volume of the bubbles in the above and to compensate for the volume of the discharged liquid, from the upstream side (B side in the figure), that is, from the common liquid chamber side, as flows V _D1 and V _D2 , as from the discharge port side of the flow of V _c, it comes flows liquid.

The operation of the movable member and the discharge operation of the liquid accompanying the generation of air bubbles have been described above. Hereinafter, the refilling of the liquid in the liquid discharge head will be described in detail.

After the state of FIG. 10C, when the bubble 40 enters the defoaming process after passing through the state of the maximum volume, a liquid having a volume supplementing the defoamed volume is supplied to the bubble generation region 11 by the first liquid. The discharge port 18 side of the flow path 14 and the common liquid chamber side 1 of the second liquid flow path 16
Flows in from 3.

In the conventional liquid flow path structure having no movable member 31, the amount of the liquid flowing from the discharge port side to the defoaming position and the amount of the liquid flowing from the common liquid chamber are reduced in a portion closer to the discharge port than the bubble generation region. And the portion near the common liquid chamber due to the magnitude of the flow resistance (based on the flow path resistance and the inertia of the liquid). For this reason, when the flow resistance on the side close to the discharge port is small, a lot of liquid flows from the discharge port side to the defoaming position, and the retreat amount of the meniscus increases. In particular, as the flow resistance on the side close to the discharge port is reduced to increase the discharge efficiency in order to increase the discharge efficiency, the meniscus M at the time of defoaming becomes larger, the refill time becomes longer, and the refill time becomes longer, and high-speed printing is performed. Was to hinder.

On the other hand, in this liquid ejection head using the above-described ejection principle, since the movable member 31 is provided,
When the volume W of the bubble is W1 on the upper side of the first position of the movable member 31 and W2 is on the side of the bubble generation region 11, the meniscus M retreats when the movable member 31 returns to the original position when the bubble disappears. Is stopped, and the liquid supply for the remaining volume of W2 is
This is mainly performed by liquid supply from the flow _VD2 of the second liquid flow path 16. Thus, while the amount corresponding to about half the volume of the bubble W has conventionally been the meniscus retreat amount, it is now possible to suppress the meniscus retreat amount to less than about half the W1. Become. Furthermore, W2
The liquid supply for the volume of is forcibly performed mainly from the upstream side (V _D2 ) of the second liquid flow path 16 along the surface of the movable member 31 on the heating element side by utilizing the pressure at the time of defoaming. , A faster refill can be realized.

Here, the characteristic point is that when refilling is performed using the pressure at the time of defoaming with the conventional head, the vibration of the meniscus becomes large, which leads to the deterioration of the image quality. In the high-speed refill described below, the first liquid flow path 1 on the discharge port side is moved by the movable member 31.
Since the flow of the liquid on the discharge port side between the region 4 and the bubble generation region 11 is suppressed, the vibration of the meniscus can be extremely reduced.

As described above, according to the discharge principle used in the present invention, the forced refilling of the bubble generation region 11 through the liquid supply path 12 of the second liquid flow path 16 and the above-described meniscus retraction and By achieving high-speed refilling by suppressing vibration, it is possible to achieve stable ejection, high-speed repetitive ejection, and when used in the field of printing, improvement in image quality and high-speed printing. Since the ejection force is improved, it is possible to eject ink (for example, pigment-based ink) which has conventionally been difficult to eject.

The above-described liquid ejection principle further has the following effective functions. That is, the propagation of the pressure to the upstream side (back wave) due to the generation of bubbles is suppressed. Conventionally, among the bubbles generated on the heating element, most of the pressure due to the bubbles on the common liquid chamber side (upstream side) is a force (back wave) for pushing back the liquid toward the upstream side. This back wave caused the pressure on the upstream side, the amount of liquid movement due thereto, and the inertia force accompanying the liquid movement, which reduced the refill of the liquid into the liquid flow path and hindered high-speed driving. . According to the liquid ejection principle described above,
First, these effects on the upstream side are suppressed by the movable member 31, and the refill supply property is further improved.

Further, a further characteristic structure and effect of the liquid discharge head based on this new discharge principle will be described below.

Here, the second liquid flow path 16 is
Upstream, a liquid supply path 12 having an inner wall that is substantially flat with the heating element 2 (the surface of the heating element is not greatly reduced) is provided. In such a case, the bubble generation region 11
The supply of the liquid to the surface of the heating element 2 is performed by the movable member 31.
Along the side surface closer to the bubble generation region 11 of the carried out as V _D2. For this reason, the stagnation of the liquid on the surface of the heating element 2 is suppressed, and the deposition of the gas dissolved in the liquid and the so-called residual air bubbles that cannot be defoamed are easily removed. Is prevented from being excessively stored. Therefore, more stable generation of bubbles can be repeated at high speed. Although the liquid supply path 12 having a substantially flat inner wall has been described here, the invention is not limited to this. Any liquid supply path that has a gentle inner wall that is smoothly connected to the heating element surface may be used. Any shape that does not cause stagnation of the liquid on the heating element or large turbulence in the supply of the liquid may be used.

In some cases, the supply of the liquid to the bubble generation region 11 is performed from _VD1 via the side portion (slit 35) of the movable member. However, in order to more effectively guide the pressure at the time of bubble generation to the discharge port, as shown in FIG. 10, a large movable member 31 that covers the entire bubble generation region (covers the heating element surface) is used. In the case where the flow resistance of the liquid between the bubble generation region 11 and the region near the discharge port 18 of the first liquid flow path 14 is increased by returning to the first position, the bubble is _removed from the above-described VD1. The flow of the liquid toward the generation region 11 is obstructed. However, in the head structure described here, the flow V _D1 for supplying the liquid to the bubble generation region 11 has a very high liquid supply performance, and the movable member 31 covers the bubble generation region 11. Even if such a structure is required to improve the discharge efficiency, the liquid supply performance is not reduced.

The position of the free end 32 and the fulcrum 33 of the movable member 31 is such that the free end is relatively downstream from the fulcrum as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently realize functions and effects such as guiding the pressure propagation direction and growth direction of bubbles to the discharge port side during the above-described foaming. Further, this positional relationship achieves not only a function and an effect on discharge, but also an effect that the flow resistance to the liquid flowing through the liquid flow path 10 can be reduced and the refill can be performed at a high speed even when the liquid is supplied. As shown in FIG. 14, when the meniscus M retracted by ejection returns to the ejection port 18 by capillary force, or when liquid is supplied to the defoaming, the liquid flow path 10 (first Liquid flow path 14,
Flows S ₁ , S ₂ , S _{3 (} including the second liquid flow path 16)
This is because the free end and the fulcrum 33 are arranged so as not to oppose each other.

Supplementally, in FIG. 10, as described above, the free end 32 of the movable member 31 has the area center 3 (the area center of the heating element 2) that divides the heating element 2 into an upstream area and a downstream area. (A line passing through the (center) and orthogonal to the length direction of the liquid flow path) and extends to the heat generating element 2 so as to face a position on the downstream side. As a result, the movable member 31 receives a pressure or a bubble that greatly contributes to the discharge of the liquid generated downstream of the area center position 3 of the heating element, and the pressure and the bubble can be guided to the discharge port 18, and the discharge efficiency can be improved. And the discharge force can be fundamentally improved. In addition, many effects are obtained by utilizing the upstream side of the bubble. In addition, in the configuration described here, the fact that the free end of the movable member 31 makes an instantaneous mechanical displacement is also considered to contribute effectively to the ejection of the liquid.

<< New Type Recording Head (Two-Liquid Channel Configuration) >>
Next, the configuration of the liquid flow path is set to a multiple flow path configuration (here, a two-flow path configuration), and a liquid (foaming liquid) to be foamed by applying heat and a liquid to be mainly discharged (discharged liquid) are separated. A liquid discharge head that can be used will be described. FIG.
FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the flow direction of a liquid discharge head having a two-flow path configuration, and FIG. 16 is a partially broken perspective view of the liquid discharge head.

The liquid discharge head having a two-flow path structure has a second liquid flow path 1 for a foaming liquid on an element substrate 1 provided with a heating element 2 for applying thermal energy for generating bubbles in the liquid.
6, on which a first liquid flow path 14 for the discharged liquid directly communicating with the discharge port 18 is arranged. First liquid flow path 14
Is connected to a first common liquid chamber 15 for supplying the discharge liquid to the plurality of first liquid flow paths 14, and the upstream side of the second liquid flow path 16 is The second liquid flow path 16 communicates with a second common liquid chamber 17 for supplying a foaming liquid.
However, when the same liquid is used for the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid, the common liquid chamber may be made one and shared.

A separation wall 30 made of an elastic material such as a metal is provided between the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16. 14 and the second liquid flow path 16. In the case where the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are liquids that should not be mixed as much as possible, the liquid in the first liquid flow path 14 and the liquid flow in the second liquid flow path 16 can be completely separated by the separation wall 30 as much as possible. It is better to separate distribution,
If there is no problem even if the foaming liquid and the discharge liquid are mixed to some extent, the separation wall 30 need not have the function of complete separation.

The separation wall 30 located in the projection space above the heating element 2 in the plane direction (hereinafter referred to as a discharge pressure generation area; the area A in FIG. 15 and the bubble generation area 11 in B in FIG. Thus, the discharge port side (downstream side of the liquid flow) is a free end, and the cantilever-shaped movable member 31 has a fulcrum 33 located on the common liquid chamber (15, 17) side. Since the movable member 31 is disposed facing the bubble generation region 11 (B), the movable member 31 operates so as to open toward the discharge port 18 side of the first liquid flow path 14 by foaming of the foaming liquid. (The direction of the arrow in the figure). In FIG. 16 as well, a second liquid flow path 16 is provided on the element substrate 1 on which a heating resistor as the heating element 2 and a wiring electrode 5 for applying an electric signal to the heating resistor are arranged.
The separation wall 30 is arranged via a space that constitutes the above.
The relationship between the arrangement of the fulcrum 33 and the free end 32 of the movable member 31 and the arrangement with the heating element 2 is the same as that of the liquid discharge head having a single flow path.

The structure relationship between the liquid supply path 12 and the heating element 2 in the liquid discharge head having a single flow path has been described.
The structure relationship between the liquid flow path 16 and the heating element 2 is the same.

Next, the operation of the liquid discharge head having the two flow paths will be described with reference to FIG.

In driving the head, the same aqueous ink was used as the ejection liquid supplied to the first liquid flow path 14 and the foaming liquid supplied to the second liquid flow path 16.

The heat generated by the heating element 2 is transferred to the second liquid flow path 1
By acting on the foaming liquid in the bubble generation region 11 of No. 6, 1
As with the flow channel configuration, US Pat.
A bubble 40 is generated based on the film boiling phenomenon as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-93. Here, since there is no escape of the foaming pressure from three sides except for the upstream side of the bubble generation region 11, the pressure due to the bubble generation is concentrated and propagates to the movable member 31 arranged in the discharge pressure generation unit. Then, with the growth of bubbles, the movable member 6 is displaced from the state of FIG. 17A to the first liquid flow path 14 side as shown in FIG. 17B. Due to the operation of the movable member 31, the first liquid flow path 14 and the second liquid flow path 16 are largely communicated with each other, and the pressure based on the generation of air bubbles is applied to the direction (A direction) of the first liquid flow path on the discharge port side. ) Mainly transmitted. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port 18 by the propagation of the pressure and the mechanical displacement of the movable member 31 as described above.

Next, as the bubbles shrink, the movable member 3
1 returns to the position shown in FIG. 17A, and the first liquid flow path 14 supplies an amount of discharged liquid corresponding to the amount of discharged liquid from the upstream side. Since the supply of the discharge liquid is in the direction in which the movable member 31 is closed, similarly to the case of the one-passage configuration, the refill of the discharge liquid is not hindered by the movable member 31.

In the liquid discharge head having the two flow paths, the operation and effects of the main parts related to the propagation of the foaming pressure due to the displacement of the movable member, the growth direction of the bubbles, the prevention of the back wave, etc.
Although the configuration is the same as that of the one-channel configuration, the following advantages are obtained by adopting the two-channel configuration. That is,
According to the above configuration, the discharge liquid and the foaming liquid are different liquids,
The ejection liquid can be ejected by the pressure generated by the foaming of the foaming liquid. For this reason, conventionally, even if it is a high-viscosity liquid such as polyethylene glycol, which has been insufficiently foamed even when heat is applied and discharge power is insufficient, this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path, Liquid that foams well in the foaming liquid (ethanol: water = 4: 6 mixed solution, about 1-2 cP, etc.)
By supplying a liquid having a low boiling point to the second liquid flow path, the liquid can be discharged well. In addition, by selecting a liquid that does not generate deposits such as kogation on the surface of the heating element even if it receives heat as the foaming liquid, foaming can be stabilized and good ejection can be performed.

Further, in the structure of the two-flow path structure, the effect as described in the above-described one-flow path structure is also produced. it can. Further, even in the case of a liquid weak to heating, this liquid is supplied to the first liquid flow path as a discharge liquid,
By supplying a liquid that hardly changes in quality in the liquid flow path and generates good foaming, it does not cause thermal harm to the liquid that is vulnerable to heating, and discharges with high discharge efficiency and high discharge force as described above. can do.

<< Configuration of Printing Apparatus >> Next, the configuration of a control system of the printing apparatus used in the present embodiment will be described.
Conventional recording device 200C and new recording device 200N
Then, for example, although there is a difference that the new type can move the recording medium and the carriage at a higher speed, there is no essential difference in the mechanical structure. In addition, the configuration of the control system and the electric circuit system for driving these mechanical structural parts are almost the same. However, either the one designed based on the conventional print head or the new print head is used. It is different depending on what is designed to maximize the performance of. FIG. 18 shows these new type recording devices 200.
N is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit that appears in common in a conventional recording apparatus 200C. Hereinafter, these recording apparatuses will be described by reference to the reference numeral 200.

The recording apparatus 200 has a CR motor 125 for moving the carriage 50 in the main scanning direction and an LF motor 1 for conveying the recording material 104 in the sub scanning direction.
26, and a paper feed motor 127 for feeding the recording medium to the print surface 105. Further, these motors 125 to 127 and the recording head 210C or 210
A control board 121 for driving N is provided.
The control board 121 is connected to the carriage 50 by the flexible cable 56 and the power supply unit 12
2 and a front panel 123 for operation, and an optional interface board 124 as necessary. Further, sensors 128 and 12 for detecting the position of the carriage 50 and the paper end are provided.
9 is connected to the control board 121.

On the control board 121, an interface circuit 131 for connection to an external host computer 300, an MPU 132 in the form of a microprocessor for executing actual control operations, a program for the MPU 132, and the like are stored. A mask ROM 134, a RAM 135 for temporarily storing print data and the like,
A CR motor driver 136 for driving the CR motor 125 in accordance with an instruction from the PU 132;
The LF motor driver 137 for driving the LF motor 126 according to the instruction from the MPU 132, the paper feed motor driver 138 for driving the paper feed motor 127 according to the instruction from the MPU 132, and the above-described circuits and elements are interconnected. And a gate array 133 are provided. M
The PU 132 is connected to the host computer 300 via the interface circuit 131, and has a mask RO
The recording operation is controlled based on the program in M134. Specifically, the MPU 132 controls the CR motor 125, the LF motor 126, and the paper feed motor 127 based on print data from the host computer 300 stored in the RAM 135, and controls the drive circuit unit 253 (see FIG. 20). Via the recording head 210C or 210
Control N. The front panel 123 is provided with a dip switch, a key switch, a display element using a light emitting diode, and the like. As described above, the recording head 210C or 210N is detachably mounted on the carriage 50, and a sensor 142 for detecting a state and an encoder 141 for detecting the position of the carriage 50 are provided.

The physical shapes of the recording heads 210C and 210N are the same as those of the conventional recording head 7 described with reference to FIG. That is, the recording heads 210C and 210N are provided with a contact surface 78 in which contact points are arranged in a predetermined pattern, and when the recording heads 210 and 210N are mounted on the carriage 50, the contact surfaces 78 are provided.
8 engages with the contact portion 561 on the carriage 50 side,
The wiring pattern of the flexible cable 56 and the contact point of the recording head are electrically and reliably connected in a predetermined correspondence relationship. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of contact points 781 on the contact surface 78 of the recording head.

In this embodiment, the type of recording head mounted on the carriage 50 can be identified by an ID signal. That is, in the conventional recording head 210C, some of the contact points 781 for electrical connection are replaced with the head I.
Used for D identification. Then, by reading the voltage levels appearing at these contact points for head ID identification from the main body, it is possible to identify whether the monochrome compatible head or the color compatible head is mounted. Example Table 1 shows an example of a criterion for reserving two contact points for ID identification and identifying whether the correspondence is monochrome or color. In the table, "H" indicates that the voltage level is at a high level, and "L" indicates that the voltage level is at a low level.

[0101]

[Table 1] On the other hand, in the new type recording head 210N, the I
Using an unused one of the contact points reserved for D identification to extend and use for the new type recording head 210N, extending and using an undefined combination, or recording Non-volatile R on head 210N
A method of preparing an AM or the like and reading the content of the nonvolatile RAM from a specific contact point by serial communication is adopted. The compatibility between the method of using the contact point for ID identification in the conventional type and the case of serially reading the data of the RAM in the new type will be described later.

Next, the software configuration of this ink jet recording system will be described with reference to FIG.

The software in the host computer 300 includes application software 301 such as word processing software for printing on the recording device 200 and an OS (operating system) for managing each application software 301, managing files, and processing system calls. System) 302 and a printer driver 303 that generates print data in accordance with an instruction from the OS 301 and sends the print data to the recording apparatus 200 side. In some cases, the application software 301 directly issues an instruction to the printer driver 303, but in any case, the host computer 30
The creation and transmission of print data from 0 to the recording apparatus 200 are performed by the printer driver 303 in a lump.

As described above, by making the printer driver independent as a device driver, it is not necessary to prepare a routine for finely controlling the recording apparatus 200 in the application software 301 or the OS 302 itself, thereby improving the efficiency as a whole. I have. More specifically, the color information handled by the application software 301 and the OS 302 is usually handled by the luminance of each of the three components of RGB (R = red, G = green, B = blue). (C = cyan, M = magenta, Y = yellow, K = black), the color information needs to be converted. In addition, since the resolution of the image data on the application software 301 side and the resolution of the printer are often different or the gradation is often different, these conversions are also necessary. The printer driver 303 reduces the burden on the application software 301 and the OS 302 by undertaking this type of conversion. In the case of the present embodiment, the printer driver 303 also executes processing for ensuring compatibility between the new type and the conventional type.

On the other hand, the printing apparatus 200 receives, as software, print data from the printer driver 303 and controller software 251 for controlling the operation of the entire printing apparatus 200, and the installed printing heads 210N and 210N. Engine software 252 that generates a drive signal for 210C under the control of the controller software 251 is provided.

In this ink jet recording system, the type of the recording head mounted on the recording apparatus 200 is notified from the recording apparatus 200 to the host computer 300 in order to inform the host computer 300 of the type of the recording head. Is output.

FIG. 21 shows how signals are exchanged between the host computer 300 and the recording device 200 in chronological order. That is,
The host computer 300 has a printer driver 303
When a print output is requested to the recording device 200, first, an ID signal request is issued and transmitted to the recording device 200 side (step 40).
1) In response to this, the recording apparatus 200 checks the ID (type) of the attached recording head (step 40).
2) Transmit the ID signal to the host computer 300 side (step 403). Host computer 300
Upon receiving the ID signal (step 404), the printer driver 303 performs color processing according to the received ID number, that is, the type of the print head mounted on the printing apparatus 200 (step 405), and outputs the CMYK signal and the mode setting. A signal is generated and transmitted to the recording device 200 (step 406). The recording device 200 uses these CMY
When the K signal and the mode setting signal are received, the contents of the mode setting signal are confirmed (step 407), and control processing is performed by the controller software (step 40).
8) Recording is performed on the recording medium (step 409).

Next, with reference to FIG. 22, the operation when recording is performed using this ink jet recording system will be described.

First, in the printing apparatus 200, the type of the installed print head (head cartridge) is confirmed (step 411), and the ID is notified to the host computer 300 as an ID signal (step 412). In the host computer 300, the printer driver 303 changes the state of the recording apparatus to a cartridge (recording head).
Is registered (step 413), and the printing mode is entered (step 414). Then, by displaying a screen as shown in FIG. 23, the user is prompted to select a recording mode, and the user manually sets the recording mode (step 415). At this time, according to the type of image to be printed, the image quality, printing time, and the like are determined by the host computer 30.
The display of 0 makes it easier for the user to select the recording mode. For example, the relationship between the number of passes and the effect of reducing unevenness or distortion may be displayed on the screen. Then, the printer driver 303 determines whether or not the type of the print head and the print mode are consistent (step 41).
6) If there is a match, go to step 419. If there is no consistency, as shown in FIG. 24, a message prompting replacement of the recording head is displayed (step 41).
7) After confirming whether or not the recording head has been switched (step 418), the process proceeds to step 419. In step 419, as shown in FIG. 25, the type of the recording medium to be mounted on the recording apparatus is displayed to the user, and thereafter, color processing is performed by the printer driver 303 (step 420), and the processing ends. .

FIG. 26 shows an outline of the color processing performed by the printer driver 303. When the RGB data is input (step 421), a recording mode setting process is performed (step 422). Subsequently, a process of converting the luminance in the RGB data into a density (step 423), a process of performing masking (step 424), UCR / BGR processing (step 425), processing for correcting the ink droplet ejection amount for each primary color and secondary color (step 426), and processing for correcting gamma (γ) in output data (step 42)
7) A process for representing a halftone by dither diffusion or the like (step 428) is sequentially executed, and 1- or 2-bit CMYK data is output for each color (step 429), and the process is terminated. In the processing by the printer driver 403, naturally, appropriate processing is performed depending on whether the recording head mounted on the recording apparatus 200 is the new recording head 210N or the conventional recording head 210C. Done. For example, a new recording head 2 is added to a conventional recording device 200C.
If 00N is mounted, the processing for obtaining the best recording using the new recording head 200N is performed within the range of the hardware restrictions of the conventional recording apparatus 200C. Is executed for each of the processes.

<< Ensuring Compatibility between Conventional Type and New Type >> In order to ensure compatibility between the conventional type ink jet recording apparatus and recording head and the new type ink jet recording apparatus and recording head, in particular, Points to consider are as follows.

(1) Method of identifying contact pad and head type: Regarding the contact pad, whether it is a conventional recording device or a new recording device, it is either a conventional type or a new type. It is possible to determine whether a recording head is mounted. There is no problem in the case of performing identification using an ID contact even with a new-type recording head. It is necessary to make it possible for a conventional recording apparatus to recognize a new recording head by, for example, causing a specific voltage to appear at a contact at a position where the recording head has been used. However, the method of identifying the recording head is not limited to the method using the contact pads, and a method is used in which a notch or the like is provided at a specific position of the recording head and this is detected by a mechanical switch or the like provided on the carriage. Is also good. Also, the arrangement of the signal lines, control lines, and power lines in the contact pads does not conflict between the conventional print head and the new print head. A ROM or the like may be used.

(2) Condition setting related to drive control: The optimum power value of the pulse to be applied to the electrothermal transducer (heating element) in the print head is different between the new print head and the conventional print head. Is different. Therefore, if the time width of the pulse applied from the printing apparatus to the printhead is fixed, it is desirable to change the drive voltage (pulse voltage) _Vop according to the printhead. Specifically, the sheet resistance of the electrothermal transducer is changed on the head side, or D
It is conceivable to change the drive voltage on the recording apparatus main body side using a C-DC converter. In particular, in consideration of compatibility with a conventional recording apparatus, it is conceivable to provide a voltage conversion mechanism such as a DC-DC converter or a drop converter inside a new recording head.
On the other hand, if the drive voltage is constant, the time width of the pulse is changed. As a method of changing the time width of the pulse according to the recording head, a method of referring to a pulse table storing the time width of each type of the recording head, a method of classifying the recording head into several ranks and a time of each rank There are a method of driving with a width, a method of using a one-shot multivibrator circuit, and the like.

When changing the driving method according to the recording head, the driving method is selected from sequential driving, sequential distributed driving, distributed driving, and the like, and the number of simultaneously driven blocks and the odds are selected.
Select d / even control or the like. In addition, appropriate destruction prevention control is performed in accordance with the types of the recording head and the recording apparatus main body. Further, a drive frequency, a discharge amount, a printing method, and the like are changed according to the printhead so that the printing densities match.

(3) Setting of recovery control-related conditions: Improper combination of the recovery control conditions of the recording head and the recording apparatus may cause problems such as uniformity, bubble generation, sticking generation, mist generation, and wetting generation. May cause problems. Therefore, the combination and order of the number of times of suction, the amount of suction, the number of times of preliminary ejection, the number of times of preliminary ejection, the number of times of wiping, the interval of wiping, etc. are optimized according to the type of recording head.

(4) Setting of print control-related conditions: In general, different types of ink are used between the ink used in the conventional print head and the ink used in the new print head, , Fixability and the like are different. Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of print unevenness, skew, streaks, texture, bleed, white haze, etc., and to improve the fixability, a mask, the number of passes, a carriage speed (drive frequency), Feeding, image processing (color, gamma correction, binarization), ink ejection amount, etc. are optimized.

(5) Detection-related condition setting: In the ink jet recording head, temperature and the like are detected for control. Therefore, it is necessary to set conditions such as temperature detection by a temperature sensor, determination of a control method and a driving method, head characteristics, determination of abnormal operation, and the like according to the recording head. In particular, an ID assigned to a print head is used for determining a control or drive method or for recognizing head characteristics, or a rank resistor is used for classifying print heads.

[0118]

Next, a description will be given of an example in which good printing is performed while maintaining compatibility between a conventional type and a new type of printing apparatus and a printhead, with reference to numerical values. Here, four combinations shown in Table 2 are considered. The case 1 of the conventional type and the case 2 of the new type are based on the originally planned use method, and the cases 3 and 4 which are a combination of the new type and the conventional type are used in the original use. Not a method, but a use that can occur in the market.

[0119]

[Table 2] Hereinafter, a case where the print head according to the new ejection principle shown in FIGS. 10 to 17 is used as a new type print head, and the print heads shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are used as a conventional type print head. explain.

<< Embodiment 1 >> Here, a structure for maintaining the driving relationship compatibility by using the one-passage type recording head shown in FIGS. 10 to 14 as a new type recording head will be described.

The conventional recording head 210C has a resolution of 360 dpi (dpi is the number of dots per 25.4 mm) and an ink ejection amount of 70 pl for black (Bk).
(1 pl is 10 ³ μm ³ ), 40 pl for color ink (other than black), 64 nozzles for black ink, 24 for each color (C, M, Y) for color ink, and drive frequency of 8. 0 kHz, drive voltage 24 V, drive pulse width 5 μs, number of blocks 16 B, head life 5%
It has a performance of about 4000 sheets for a standard document of printing density.

A conventional recording apparatus 2 designed to be compatible with such a conventional recording head 210C.
00C is 360 × 360 dpi to 72 as a recording method.
Compatible with 0x360dpi, driving frequency up to 8.0k
Hz, the carriage drive frequency is 8.0 kHz (360d
Pi) or 4.0 kHz (at 720 dpi), and the driving voltage is 24V.

On the other hand, the new recording head 210N has a resolution of 360 dpi, a discharge amount of 70 pl of black (Bk), 40 pl of color, 24 nozzles of black, and 24 colors of each color.
Drive frequency is 16.0 kHz, drive voltage is 18 to 28
V, the drive pulse width is 3 to 6 μs, the number of blocks is 16B,
Head life is about 8% for a standard document with 5% print density.
It has a performance of 000 sheets.

A new type recording apparatus 20 designed to be compatible with such a new recording head 210N.
0N is 360 × 360 dpi to 720 as a recording method.
X 720 dpi, driving frequency up to 20.0k
Hz, the carriage drive frequency is 8.0 kHz (360d
Pi) or 4.0 kHz (at 720 dpi), and the driving voltage is 18 to 24 V.

Cases 1 and 2 which are the original usages
Respectively, the recording heads 210N, 2
10C, the original performance of the recording devices 200N, 200C,
Execute printing.

When the conventional recording head 210C and the new recording apparatus 200N are combined (case 3), the recording apparatus 200N is adapted to handle all of them. Specifically, the recording device 200N originally has 360 × 360
The recording method conforms to a recording method of dpi to 720 × 720 dpi, but is changed to 360 × 360 dpi to 720 × 3.
Used in the recording method of 60 dpi. Further, the recording device 2
The driving frequency of 00N is a maximum of 20.0 kHz, but this is used as 8.0 kHz.
V. Carriage drive frequency is 4.0 / 8.0kHz
Leave as is. Thus, the conventional recording head 2
Recording can be performed even when the 10C is mounted on a new type of recording device 200N.

On the other hand, in case 4 in which the new recording head 210N is mounted on the conventional recording device 200C,
The recording head 210N side is adapted to handle all of them. Specifically, the new recording head 210N is driven at a driving frequency of 8.0 kHz and a driving voltage of 24V.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, a two-passage type recording head shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 is used as a new type recording head, and ink of a new composition is used. A description will be given of a configuration for maintaining compatibility in a recovery relationship when an item that needs to be recovered is used.

In the conventional recording head 210C, as a condition for the recovery processing, the suction amount at the time of the recovery processing in the mode 1 is 0.0.
5cc, suction volume at the time of recovery processing in mode 2 is 0.15cc
In each case, the suction pressure was set to 0.5 atm, and preliminary ejection was performed 10 times for each line during printing, and 200 times before and after printing.
It is specified that wiping should be performed every 10 seconds of printing, every page, and every suction after 2000 shots and suctions.

The conventional recording apparatus 200C having the conventional recording head 210C mounted thereon and capable of executing the recovery processing of the conventional recording head 210C has a suction amount of 0.05 to 0.5. 15 cc, the suction pressure is 0.2 to 0.5 atm, the driving frequency of the preliminary ejection is 2 to 4 kHz,
Preliminary ejection of 10 × N (N is a natural number) is possible. Further, the wiping direction is unidirectional, the penetration amount during wiping is constant, and the wiping speed is 100 mm /
s.

The new recording head 210N requires pressure recovery, and as a condition of the recovery processing, the suction amount during the recovery processing in the mode 1 is set to 0.01 to 0.05 cc.
The recovery process in mode 2 increases the amount of extrusion under pressure from 0.1 to 0.1.
5cc, and pre-discharge 5 times for each line during printing.
It is specified that wiping is performed 50 times before and after printing, 500 times after suction, and 500 times after suction for each page and for each suction.

A new type of recording apparatus 200N which is compatible with such a new type of recording head 210N and is capable of executing the recovery processing of this new type of recording head 210N is provided with a pressure recovery device, Amount and extrusion amount are 0.01
0.5 cc, suction pressure and pressurization are 0.2 to 0.8 atm. Further, this printing apparatus 200N has a driving frequency of the preliminary ejection of 1 to 10 kHz and is capable of performing N (N is a natural number) preliminary ejections and pattern preliminary ejections. Variable,
The wiping speed is also variable between 20 and 150 mm / s.

Cases 1 and 2 which are the original usages
In the case of (2), the recording devices 200C and 200N execute the recovery process on the above-described recording heads 210C and 210N under the recovery conditions specified for the recording heads.

When the conventional recording head 210C and the new recording device 200N are combined (case 3), the recording device 200N is adapted to handle all of them. More specifically, the recording apparatus 200N can perform both suction and pressurization, but performs only suction recovery, and the new recording apparatus 200N uses the conventional recording head 210C under the conditions specified for the conventional recording head 210C. Perform recovery processing.

On the other hand, when the new recording head 210N is mounted on the conventional recording device 200C, the conventional recording device 200C cannot perform the pressure recovery, so that the new recording head 210N can be recovered. Will not be. In this case, it is displayed that the new recording head 210N cannot be used. Note that even in this case 4, since preliminary ejection (however, the number of preliminary ejections for each line during printing is 10) and wiping are possible, it is necessary to recover by using another recording device up to a straight line. It is possible to mount a new type of recording head 210N to the conventional type recording apparatus 200C and perform printing for the time being.

<< Embodiment 3 >> In this embodiment, a case where a two-passage type recording head shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 using a high-color pigment ink is used as a new type recording head. Next, a configuration for maintaining compatibility in print control will be described.

The ink of the conventional recording head 210C is as follows.
A CMYK dye ink having a reflection density of 1.1 for plain paper and a reflection density of 1.3 for specialty paper, slightly bleeding and having no water resistance.

The conventional recording apparatus 200C adapted to such a conventional recording head 210C has 1 or 4 passes for black, 2 passes for color, and 2 passes for printing.
4 or 8 is selected, in which a fixed mask is used as a mask and normal image processing is performed.

The ink of the new type recording head 210N is as follows.
The CMYK pigment ink has a reflection density of 1.4 for plain paper and 1.6 for special paper, and has no bleed and water resistance.

The new type of recording apparatus 200N adapted to the new type of recording head 210N has 1, 2 or 4 for black and 1, 2, or 4 for color as the number of passes for printing. Or 8 is selected, a random mask or a fixed mask is selected as a mask according to an image, and a character and an image are discriminated to perform image processing by adaptive processing.

Cases 1 and 2 as originally used
In the case of, the recording devices 200C and 200N execute the print control processing on the recording heads 210C and 210N described above, respectively, under conditions according to the performance of the recording heads.

When the conventional recording head 210C and the new recording device 200N are combined (Case 3), the recording device 200N side handles all of them. Specifically, the new type printing apparatus 200N sets the number of passes to 1 or 4 for black and 2, 4 or 8 for color, and uses a fixed mask of a random mask and a fixed mask as a mask. Then, as the image processing, an adaptive process for determining a character and an image is executed. In this case, since the adaptive processing is used, the image quality is improved as compared with the case where the conventional recording head 210C is mounted on the conventional recording apparatus 200C.

In case 4 in which the new recording head 210N is mounted on the conventional recording device 200C, the recording device 2
According to 00C, the number of passes can be selected only 1 or 4 for black and 2, 4 or 8 for color, and only a fixed mask is prepared, and image processing is limited to normal processing. Therefore, printing can be performed, but the image quality and the like are deteriorated as compared with the case where the new recording head 210N is mounted on the new recording device 200N. Therefore, the user is informed that the image can be used but the image quality is deteriorated, and printing is performed.

<< Embodiment 4 >> In this embodiment, when a new type recording head which transmits an ID by serial communication with a two-channel type recording head shown in FIGS. A configuration for maintaining the compatibility of the above will be described.

The conventional recording head 210C is configured so that the recording head is recognized using an ID contact using a fuse ROM or the like. Further, the conventional recording head 210C corrects a detection value from a temperature sensor in the head. For this purpose, a sensor rank is used, and a rank resistor is used for correcting individual differences of the recording head.

The conventional recording apparatus 200C adapted to the conventional recording head 210C identifies the type of the recording head by the ID contact, reads the sensor rank via the contact, and obtains the read result. Execute the sensor rank correction sequence accordingly, and
To read the rank resistance value, a rank resistance read sequence is executed.

On the other hand, the new type recording head 210N
It is adapted to identify the type of recording head by D serial communication, and to transmit the sensor rank and rank resistance to the recording apparatus main body side by this serial communication.

The new recording apparatus 200N adapted to such a new recording head 210N has a serial communication function for receiving the above-described serial communication, and checks the ID of the recording head by serial communication. And a sensor rank correction sequence and a rank resistance reading sequence.

In case 1, which is the original usage, the conventional recording apparatus 200C identifies the conventional recording head 210C by an ID contact, that is, an ID pattern, and determines the sensor rank via the contact. Read and execute the sensor rank correction sequence, and execute the rank resistance reading sequence. Similarly, in case 2 which is the original usage, the new type recording device 2
00N reads the ID, sensor rank, rank resistance, and the like from the new type recording head 210N by serial communication, and executes a sensor rank correction sequence and a rank resistance correction sequence.

When the conventional recording head 210C and the new recording device 200N are combined (case 3), the recording device 200N is adapted to handle all of them. Specifically, the new recording apparatus 200N is designed to be able to identify the recording head by ID contact as well as the ID serial communication.
Thus, predetermined data may be read from the recording head by the same procedure as that of the conventional recording apparatus.

In case 4 in which the new recording head 210N is mounted on the conventional recording device 200C, the conventional recording device 200C does not support serial communication, but recognizes the ID (head type). A new type of recording head 21 is used so that the degree can be performed by the conventional recording apparatus 200C.
0N is designed. However, in general, the conventional recording apparatus 200C is used up to the sensor rank and the rank resistance.
It is not designed to be read in. For this reason, it is displayed that the printer is usable but the control is insufficient, and printing is performed.

Although the preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the case where a head using a piezo element is used as the first inkjet recording head in the present invention. Applicable.

[0153]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to mount the first ink jet recording head for ejecting ink under the first driving condition, and to provide a supply means for supplying only the first driving condition. For a market system including one inkjet recording device, the first inkjet recording device is mounted on a second inkjet recording device different from the first inkjet recording device.
The ink is ejected under a second driving condition different from the first driving condition, has an ejection performance superior to that of the first inkjet recording device, and can be mounted on the first inkjet recording device. By providing a second ink jet recording head capable of ejecting ink, a new recording head and a conventional recording device, or between a conventional recording head and a new recording device can be used. ,Moreover,
There is an effect that it is possible to maintain compatibility between various new types of recording heads and to perform the best recording on the assumption that a given combination of a recording head and a recording apparatus is provided.
By maintaining compatibility in this way, it becomes possible to respond to future improvements in image processing, color materials, recording media, etc., and also to improve ease of purchase and selectivity,
Effects such as reduction in purchase price, improvement in image quality, recording speed, reliability, and the like, reduction in power consumption, and reduction in running cost are produced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a recording head integrated with an ink tank, wherein FIG. 2A is a right side view, FIG. 2B is a bottom view, FIG. 2C is a front view, and FIG. .

FIG. 3 is an enlarged enlarged view showing the vicinity of a discharge port of a head unit.

4A and 4B are front views of a carriage in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a process of mounting a head, and FIG.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing a main part of a head attaching / detaching mechanism in the carriage shown in FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 5A is a top view and FIG. 5B is a front view.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the carriage shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a contact portion provided on the carriage shown in FIG. 4 and its periphery.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating a liquid flow path configuration in a conventional inkjet recording head.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a variation of a combination of a printhead and a printing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a new type recording head having a single flow path configuration.

11 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the novel recording head of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a conventional recording head.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing pressure propagation from bubbles in a new type recording head.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a flow of a liquid in a new type recording head.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a new type recording head having a two-channel configuration.

FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the novel recording head of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a view for explaining the operation of a new type recording head having a two-channel configuration.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a contact surface in a recording head.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the inkjet recording system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing signals exchanged between the host computer and the recording device in a time series.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the inkjet recording system.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a display example for a user.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a display example for a user.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a display example for a user.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating color processing by a printer driver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 element substrate 2 heating element 3 area center 5 carriage section 6 cleaning section 7 recording head 10 liquid flow path 11 bubble generation area 12 supply path 13 common liquid chamber 14 first liquid flow path 15 first common liquid chamber 16 second Liquid flow path 17 second common liquid chamber 18, 70 discharge port 20 paper feed unit 31 movable member 32 free end 33 fulcrum 36 transport roller 39 platen 40 bubble 45 droplet 61 cap 71 head unit 73 ink tank 78, 503 contact Surface 200 Recording device 200C Conventional recording device 200N New recording device 210C Conventional recording head 210N New recording head 300 Host computer 301 Application program 302 OS 303 Printer driver

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akira Nagatomo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Satoshi Kano 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Ishinaga, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshio Kashino 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshie Nakata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A first method for ejecting ink under a first driving condition.
In a market system including a first inkjet recording apparatus capable of mounting the inkjet recording head of the first aspect and having a supply unit for supplying only the first driving condition, a second aspect different from the first inkjet recording apparatus is provided. The ink jet recording apparatus is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus and discharges ink under a second driving condition different from the first driving condition. The ink jet recording apparatus has superior discharging performance than the first ink jet recording apparatus. A second ink jet recording head which can also be mounted and can discharge ink even under the first driving condition. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the first inkjet recording head and the second inkjet recording head is provided with an ink tank. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the second ink jet recording head is disposed so as to face a discharge port for discharging a liquid, a bubble generation region for generating a bubble in the liquid, and the bubble generation region.
And a movable member that can be displaced between a second position and a second position farther from the bubble generation region than the first position. The movable member has a pressure based on bubble generation in the bubble generation region. An ink jet recording head that discharges liquid by displacing the bubble from the first position to the second position, and expanding the bubble to a greater extent downstream than in the direction toward the ejection port by displacement of the movable member. is there,
The method for standardizing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the second ink jet recording head includes a discharge port for discharging the liquid, a heating element for generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid, and a discharge port provided facing the heating element. A movable member having a free end on the outlet side and displacing the free end based on the pressure generated by the bubble to guide the pressure to the discharge port side; and an upstream of the movable member along a surface close to the heating element. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a supply path that supplies a liquid onto the heating element from a side. 4. 5. The liquid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the second ink jet recording head has a first liquid flow path communicating with a discharge port, and a bubble generation region having a heating element and generating bubbles in the liquid by applying heat to the liquid. A second liquid flow path having, disposed between the first liquid flow path and the bubble generation region so as to face the heating element, and having a free end on a discharge port side;
A movable member that displaces the free end toward the first liquid flow path based on a pressure due to the generation of bubbles in the bubble generation area and guides the pressure to a discharge port side of the first liquid flow path; The method according to claim 1, further comprising: 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a mounting portion on which each of the ink jet recording heads is exchangeably mounted, wherein the mounting portion is arranged in a direction parallel to a surface of the recording medium. The method of claim 1, further comprising a carriage that moves the inkjet recording head. 7. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein said second ink-jet recording device has a mounting portion on which said ink-jet recording heads can be exchangeably mounted, and said mounting portion is electrically connected to said ink-jet recording head. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a contact surface is formed. 8. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein each of said ink jet recording heads is formed with a contact surface capable of engaging with and electrically connecting to a contact surface provided on said mounting portion. Standardization method. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first ink jet recording head recognizes the mounting of the first ink jet recording head by causing a predetermined voltage to appear at a specific contact formed on the contact surface. Item 9. A method for standardizing an ink jet recording head according to Item 8. 10. The second ink jet recording head recognizes the placement of the second ink jet recording head by reading data by serial data transfer from a specific contact formed on a contact surface of the second ink jet recording head. The method for standardizing an ink jet recording head according to claim 8. 11. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature detecting sensor and rank means for holding a characteristic correction value. Measured value and the value for the characteristic correction,
The method for standardizing an ink jet recording head according to claim 10, wherein the ink jet recording head is read by the serial data transfer. 12. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 12, wherein said second ink-jet recording device has a mounting portion on which said ink-jet recording heads can be exchangeably mounted. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a driving frequency, a driving voltage, and a driving pulse width for the ink jet recording head changes. 13. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second ink jet recording apparatus has a mounting portion on which each of the ink jet recording heads can be exchangeably mounted, and recovery means for performing pressure and suction recovery on the ink jet recording head. Then, depending on the type of the ink jet recording head mounted on the mounting portion, for the ink jet recording head, whether to perform only recovery by suction, or to perform recovery by pressurization and suction is selected, A method for standardizing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1. 14. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein the second ink-jet recording device has a mounting portion on which the ink-jet recording heads can be exchangeably mounted. The method according to claim 1, wherein the content of image processing for printing changes. 15. A mounting section on which an ink jet recording head can be exchangeably mounted, a discriminating means for discriminating a type of the ink jet recording head mounted on the mounting section, and a discrimination type of the discriminated ink jet recording head. According to the above, in an ink jet recording head used in an ink jet recording system having at least a setting means for giving an optimum setting condition within a possible range, electrically engaging with a contact surface provided on the mounting portion, An ink jet recording head having a contact surface that can be connected, and capable of transmitting at least information on the type of the ink jet recording head to the ink jet recording system by serial data communication via a specific contact on the contact surface. 16. A sensor for temperature detection and rank means for holding a value for characteristic correction, wherein a measured value of the sensor and the value for characteristic correction are transmitted by the serial data transfer. 16. The ink jet recording head according to item 15. 17. An ink jet recording method in an ink jet recording system for forming an image on a recording medium by discharging ink from a discharge port provided in an ink jet recording head, wherein: A first inkjet recording head having recording characteristics and the first inkjet recording head;
A mounting portion on which at least two types of ink jet recording heads of a second ink jet recording head having second recording characteristics different from the recording characteristics of the above are interchangeably mounted, and an ink jet mounted on the mounting portion. Using a device having a discriminating means for discriminating the type of the recording head, and restricting the combination of the ink jet recording head mounted on the mounting portion and the ink jet recording system according to the discrimination result by the discriminating means. An ink jet recording method, characterized in that recording is performed under an optimum recording condition among the constraint conditions. 18. The ink jet recording system according to claim 18, wherein said first recording characteristic is relatively superior to said second recording characteristic, and said ink jet recording system fully exhibits the recording characteristic of said first ink jet recording head. 18. The ink jet recording method according to claim 17, wherein when the recording is not possible, the fact is displayed to a user and recording is performed. 19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is used in performing an ink-jet recording head standardization method.
In an information processing apparatus that outputs print data to a recording device including the placement unit, information about a type of an inkjet recording head placed on the placement unit is received from the recording device, An information processing apparatus comprising a printer driver that performs image processing according to the type of an ink jet recording head to be used. 20. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the printer driver converts the RGB data into CMYK data by the image processing and outputs the data as print data to the recording device.