EP3098073B1 - Dispositif de formation d'image - Google Patents

Dispositif de formation d'image Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3098073B1
EP3098073B1 EP15739806.6A EP15739806A EP3098073B1 EP 3098073 B1 EP3098073 B1 EP 3098073B1 EP 15739806 A EP15739806 A EP 15739806A EP 3098073 B1 EP3098073 B1 EP 3098073B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
drive voltage
load
recording
voltage
control unit
Prior art date
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Application number
EP15739806.6A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3098073A4 (fr
EP3098073A1 (fr
Inventor
Akira Takeya
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Konica Minolta Inc
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Konica Minolta Inc
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04581—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04548—Details of power line section of control circuit
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04568—Control according to number of actuators used simultaneously

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
  • an inkjet image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink through openings of a plurality of nozzles arranged in a predetermined pattern while individually controlling timings thereof.
  • This inkjet recording apparatus abruptly applies a pressure to ink in an ink channel communicating to the corresponding nozzle to push out the ink from the nozzle at high speed and therefore ejects and drops an ink droplet.
  • a piezoelectric method for pushing out ink by compressing and deforming an ink chamber communicating to a nozzle with the use of a piezoelectric element or the like and a thermal method for pushing out ink by electrifying a heater provided in a nozzle end to heat ink and generating bubbles in an ink channel.
  • a load element such as a piezoelectric element or a heater is individually provided in each nozzle.
  • a predetermined voltage is applied to the load element corresponding to the nozzle for ejecting ink, and therefore a total load, i.e., power consumption is increased as the number of nozzles that simultaneously ejects ink is increased.
  • a supply voltage is decreased or increased when a large load is abruptly applied or is removed.
  • An amount of ejection of ink from each nozzle is closely related to a drive voltage applied to a load element corresponding to each nozzle, and therefore there is a problem in that, when the drive voltage is changed, density of ink becomes uneven and thus image quality of a formed image is reduced.
  • a technique for suppressing a change in output voltage by using a feedback circuit as a circuit for supplying a stable voltage has been conventionally used.
  • Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for suppressing a change in consumption power by, before outputting drive pulse for ejecting ink, outputting prepulse at a degree at which ink is not ejected and then changing a length of this prepulse to compensate power consumption of a nozzle that does not eject ink.
  • Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique for suppressing a change in consumption power by providing a plurality of dummy resistors and switches in parallel to nozzles, counting the number of nozzles that simultaneously eject ink, and consuming electric power corresponding to an amount of reduction of consumption power in the nozzles with the use of a combination of the resistors, thereby preventing variation of voltage drop between lines during formation of an image.
  • US 2007 030298 A1 discloses a printing apparatus having an arrangement capable of stably applying a voltage with out using any special power supply control unit, and a power supply control method.
  • a signal representing a change of an image signal is generated in the ASIC of the printing apparatus main body.
  • a discharge circuit which is arranged on the power supply path extending from the power supply unit and quickly decreases the voltage upon power-off is also used as a circuit for stabilizing the voltage. While a power supply unit and DC/DC converter with a conventional arrangement are adopted without adding any new component, a compact, low-cost power supply circuit with high voltage stability is implemented.
  • a response time of a feedback circuit for suppressing a change in drive voltage with respect to a change in consumption power is determined depending on constants of a coil, a capacitor, and the like included in the feedback circuit. Therefore, when a speed of switching of a load is increased, the response time becomes longer than an output time of the drive voltage. Under such circumstances, a great change in drive voltage cannot be immediately suppressed.
  • An object of this invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a drive voltage with a simple configuration more stably with respect to a change in load caused by start of operation of a recording element.
  • the invention is directed to an image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
  • an image forming apparatus it is possible to output a drive voltage with a simple configuration more stably with respect to a change in load caused by start of operation of a recording element.
  • Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1 which is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
  • the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a line head in which a plurality of nozzles is arranged over a width of a recording medium, the width being a width in which an image can be formed, in a width direction vertical to a conveyance direction of the recording medium on which an image is to be formed, and employs a one-pass method in which an image is formed in each row (line) extending in the width direction by controlling a timing at which ink is ejected from each nozzle of the fixed line head and conveying the recording medium.
  • This line head is formed by arranging a plurality of inkjet heads 70 (recording heads) in parallel.
  • ink channels for supplying ink to a predetermined number of nozzles, for example, 1024 nozzles, respectively, which are aligned and are alternately arranged in two rows extending in parallel in the width direction and pressurization mechanisms 72 (see Fig. 2 ) for pressurizing ink in the ink channels and ejecting the ink from the nozzles are provided.
  • pressurization mechanisms 72 piezoelectric elements for deforming the ink channels (pressure chambers) are used herein.
  • a combination (ink ejection mechanism) of the nozzle, the ink channel corresponding thereto, and the pressurization mechanism 72 forms a recording element.
  • the pressurization mechanism 72 serves as a load element.
  • the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, a voltage control unit 30 of a power supply unit 90, a load control unit 35, a communication unit 40, an operation display unit 50, a conveyance unit 60, a head drive unit 71 (drive unit) of the inkjet head 70, and the like.
  • the control unit 10 controls various kinds of operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.
  • the control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, and the like.
  • the CPU 101 performs arithmetic processing and outputs control signals related to operation control to each unit.
  • the RAM 102 is a volatile memory and provides a working memory space to the CPU 101 and stores temporary data.
  • the storage unit 20 stores acquired image data that is an image forming target, intermediate data and raster image data processed for forming an image, and the like and further stores various kinds of setting data and the like.
  • the storage unit 20 includes a volatile memory such as a DRAM, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), each of which has an appropriate capacity.
  • the voltage control unit 30 outputs a drive voltage to be supplied to the pressurization mechanism 72 of the nozzle of the inkjet head 70 from an electric power supply unit 37 (see Fig. 2 ) and adjusts a load of electric power to be supplied as the drive voltage of the nozzle (see Fig. 2 ).
  • the voltage control unit 30 is provided for each of the plurality of the inkjet heads 70 and can be independently controlled. In the case where the number of nozzles is large as compared to a capacity of electric power of the voltage control unit 30, a plurality of voltage control units 30 may be provided with respect to a single inkjet head 70 and may be used in parallel.
  • the load control unit 35 calculates a change in load amount in the inkjet head 70 in advance and performs control for applying a load amount corresponding to the load amount to a dummy resistor element 33 described below.
  • the voltage control unit 30 and the load control unit 35 will be described below.
  • the communication unit 40 is an interface for performing communication to a print server or an external computer terminal and includes, for example, a network card and a control module of wireless LAN.
  • the control unit 10 receives image data that is an image forming target, a print job related to image formation, and the like and transmits status data via the communication unit 40.
  • the operation display unit 50 includes a display screen for displaying an operation menu and a status and an operation unit for accepting operation from a user.
  • the display screen is not particularly limited and is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) .
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • Various kinds of display are performed in response to drive signals generated in a liquid crystal driver on the basis of control signals output from the control unit 10.
  • the operation unit is a touchscreen including a touch sensor overlapped on this LCD.
  • push button switches related to supply of power, reset, and the like may be provided on the operation unit.
  • the operation unit converts operation information to electrical signals and outputs the electrical signals to the control unit 10.
  • the conveyance unit 60 moves a recording medium on which an image is to be formed to an image forming position corresponding to the inkjet head 70 and discharges the recording medium from the image forming position after the image is formed.
  • the conveyance unit 60 is a conveyance base for circularly moving a ring-shaped belt with the use of a motor, a conveyance drum for rotating a cylindrical drum with the use of a motor, or a linear stage on which a conveyance base is linearly operated.
  • the conveyance unit 60 includes an encoder 61 (first measurement unit), and the encoder 61 can measure, for example, a distance at which the recording medium is conveyed by the conveyance unit 60 by setting a value of a start position of conveyance performed by the conveyance unit 60 to "0".
  • the head drive unit 71 outputs a drive voltage signal for performing ink ejection operation at a timing appropriate for each nozzle in accordance with input raster image data to the pressurization mechanism 72 corresponding to the nozzle.
  • Fig. 2 is an explanatory view of a circuit configuration related to supply of electric power to the inkjet head 70.
  • the head drive unit 71 includes a decoder circuit 711 for decoding input image data and outputting a drive signal in accordance with drive pulse and a driver circuit 712 for outputting any one of a ground voltage and a drive voltage input from the voltage control unit 30 to the pressurization mechanism 72 of each nozzle on the basis of the output drive signal.
  • a decoder circuit 711 for decoding input image data and outputting a drive signal in accordance with drive pulse
  • a driver circuit 712 for outputting any one of a ground voltage and a drive voltage input from the voltage control unit 30 to the pressurization mechanism 72 of each nozzle on the basis of the output drive signal.
  • the decoder circuit 711 individually performs switching for switching whether to apply drive pulse to the pressurization mechanism 72 and is configured so that a driving state and a non-driving state are switched by the switching in a state in which ink ejection operation is not performed.
  • the voltage control unit 30 converts a signal having a predetermined input voltage output from the electric power supply unit 37 to a drive voltage suitable for driving each nozzle and outputs the drive voltage to the inkjet head 70 (head drive unit 71).
  • the voltage control unit 30 includes a DC/DC conversion unit 31, a compensation circuit 32, and the like.
  • the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is a circuit for converting a predetermined DC voltage input by using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control to a drive voltage.
  • a detailed circuit configuration of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 can be any known configuration and, herein, includes, for example, a switching element for switching whether to input a DC voltage, a coil connected in series to the switching element, a diode provided between an upstream side of the coil and a ground, and a smoothing capacitor provided between a downstream side of the coil and the ground.
  • the switching element is subjected to opening/closing control so that a set voltage (herein, drive voltage) is output and is subjected to opening/closing drive by the compensation circuit 32 on the basis of a change in feedback voltage.
  • the compensation circuit 32 feeds back an output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 and performs switching operation of the switching element so that, in the case where the output voltage is changed, operation of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is changed to suppress the change.
  • a plurality of voltage control units 30 may be provided.
  • the DC/DC conversion unit 31 whose output voltage is 9 V and a DC/DC conversion unit whose output voltage is 18 V may be provided and a drive voltage to be output may be appropriately switched.
  • One end of the resistor element 33 is connected to output of the DC/DC conversion unit 31, whereas the other end thereof is connected to a switching element 34.
  • a resistance value of the resistor element 33 is set so that, in the case where the switching element 34 is on, a current flowing through the resistor element 33 and the switching element 34 is not unnecessarily increased.
  • the switching element 34 is a switch for switching whether to electrify the resistor element 33, and one end of the switching element 34 is connected to the resistor element 33, whereas the other end thereof is grounded. On/off of the switching element 34 is controlled on the basis of a control signal from the load control unit 35. That is, when the switching element 34 is turned on, an output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is applied to both ends of the resistor element 33 and a current flows to a ground plane. At this time, when a switching element of the head drive unit 71 is released and the inkjet head 70 enters the non-driving state, the output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is not applied to the pressurization mechanism 72 of the inkjet head 70.
  • the switching element 34 when the switching element 34 is turned off, the resistor element 33 enters a floating state, and, when the inkjet head 70 enters the driving state in this state, the output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is applied to the inkjet head 70 (i.e., the pressurization mechanism 72 corresponding to a nozzle that ejects ink).
  • the switching element 34 is an FET (Field Effect Transistor) such as an n-channel MOSFET. Although this FET desirably has low resistance, an appropriate FET is selected in accordance with an expected load range. Alternatively, the switching element 34 may be a bipolar transistor, and a control signal from the load control unit 35 may be applied to a base terminal.
  • FET Field Effect Transistor
  • the load control unit 35 reads raster image data for forming an image, detects a start timing of ink ejection in advance, and causes the switching element 34 to operate on the basis of an amount of ejection of ink for a predetermined row (predetermined block) after the ink ejection is started, and therefore the resistor element 33 applies, to the DC/DC conversion unit 31, a load corresponding to a load of the pressurization mechanism 72 that is needed for ejection operation of the amount of ink ejected in the predetermined row before the ink ejection is actually started.
  • the load control unit 35 includes a CPU 351 (output determination means) and a RAM 352 (buffer storage unit) .
  • the RAM 352 can store a predetermined number of rows of data of an image to be formed before the data is output to the inkjet head 70.
  • the RAM 352 can store raster image data for the number of "N+X" rows and functions as a buffer from which, in the case where raster image data for the next row is input, data for the earliest acquired row is output to the inkjet head 70.
  • the number of rows "N” corresponds to a response time of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 to a change in load. Further, the number of rows "X" (predetermined number of blocks) is the number of rows used for acquiring an amount of ejection of ink in order to determine a magnitude of a load applied to the DC/DC conversion unit 31 by using the load control unit 35.
  • the CPU 351 performs switching control of the switching element 34 on the basis of the raster image data stored in the RAM 352.
  • the plurality of voltage control units 30 can be controlled by the single load control unit 35 in such a manner that: the resistor elements 33 and the switching elements 34 corresponding to the respective voltage control units 30 are provided; the common load control unit 35 is used; the DC/DC conversion unit 31 to which a voltage is input from the electric power supply unit 37 is selected; and switching control of operation of the switching elements 34 related to on/off of supply of a voltage to the resistor elements 33 is collectively performed.
  • Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between an output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit and a head load.
  • the output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is reduced from a voltage set in advance in accordance with a magnitude of the consumption power.
  • consumption power has a substantially ignorable magnitude and voltage drop does not occur (period p1).
  • a voltage output by the DC/DC conversion unit 31 drops and changes (period p2). An amount of this reduction is determined in accordance with the capacity of electric power of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 and the magnitude of the consumption power.
  • a duration time (response period) of this change is determined in accordance with a time constant based on a magnitude of an effect of operation (pulse frequency of PWM, variable width of pulse, and the like) performed in order that the compensation circuit 32 stabilizes a voltage with respect to damped oscillation generated in accordance with inductance of the coil included in the DC/DC conversion unit 31, a capacity of the capacitor included therein, and a magnitude of the load related to driving of the inkjet head 70.
  • voltage drop occurs over a length corresponding to N times with drive pulse indicating an ink ejection timing. This voltage drop accompanies overshoot. Thereafter, the output voltage is stabilized within a voltage drop range having a level corresponding to the load (period p3).
  • This response time can be determined by using a calculation value of a change in voltage obtained by numerical value simulation of the voltage control unit 30. For example, a moving average of voltage values within a predetermined time width (for example, an average value of a voltage value at a target time and a voltage value a predetermined time therebefore), an integrated value of an absolute value of an amount of voltage change, and the like are obtained, and a timing at which the former change amount or the latter value becomes equal to or less than a predetermined level (for example, ⁇ 11.0% or less of an initial variable amplitude (difference between drive voltages before and after change)) is set as a timing at which a change level is sufficiently attenuated and is converged at a changed drive voltage.
  • a predetermined level for example, ⁇ 11.0% or less of an initial variable amplitude (difference between drive voltages before and after change)
  • a resistance value of the resistor element 33 so that, in the case where the switching element 34 is turned on, a load corresponding to the load generated in the inkjet head 70 is generated in the resistor element 33.
  • a resistance value can be set so that a total consumption current obtained in the case where a predetermined drive voltage is applied to the pressurization mechanisms 72 of all the nozzles of the inkjet head 70 flows through the resistor elements 33.
  • a resistance value for causing the consumption current to flow is 30.4 ⁇ .
  • a drive voltage is supplied to the resistor elements 33 at a cycle of 20 ⁇ s from a timing of 0.4 ms in the form of pulse, and, as a result, the drive voltage of 15.2 V is reduced to the drive voltage of about 15.05 V and is converged at a variable amplitude of ⁇ 1.5 ⁇ V or less after 300 ⁇ s (15 cycles) is passed.
  • Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram showing a relationship among an output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit, a resistance load, and a head load in the inkjet recording apparatus according to this embodiment.
  • Fig. 3C is a schematic diagram showing a load pattern obtained in the case where a resistance load is subjected to the PWM control.
  • the switching element 34 is turned on after the drive pulse is input N times therebefore or the case where the switching element 34 is turned off before the supply start timing of the drive voltage, unless a time after the switching element is turned off is long and a voltage reduced once completely returns to the original output voltage, the output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is not completely reduced to a value corresponding to the load of the resistor element 33, but an amount of reduction of the drive voltage after the supply start timing of the drive voltage becomes smaller than an amount of reduction thereof in the case shown in Fig. 3A , and the drive voltage quickly becomes a value corresponding to the load of the pressurization mechanism 72.
  • the switching element 34 is turned on for a predetermined period (at least a partial period) before the supply start timing of the drive voltage and causes the resistor element 33 to generate a load so that the drive voltage of the pressurization mechanism 72 is small as compared with an original state at the supply start timing.
  • a drop amount of the output voltage at a supply start time of the drive voltage (a drop amount temporarily occurring only in the vicinity of the top of the period q2) is smaller than a drop amount of the output voltage in the period q1 caused by turning on the switching element 34 (at the supply start time of the output voltage to the resistor element 33).
  • the load applied to the DC/DC conversion unit 31 by the resistor element 33 may be continuously set as shown in Fig. 3B or may be intermittent as shown in Fig. 3C by determining a duty ratio with the PWM control in accordance with a magnitude of a load expected after the inkjet head enters the driving state.
  • the switching element 34 is switched on/off at a time ratio corresponding to the duty ratio.
  • Each timing at which the switching element 34 is turned on can be synchronized with the drive pulse, and, in this case, the drive pulse is also input to the load control unit 35.
  • a dropped voltage can be set by adjusting the magnitude of the load more precisely with the PWM control. Therefore, after driving of the inkjet head 70 is started, the voltage can be stabilized more quickly to have a voltage value obtained after voltage drop caused by nozzle operation.
  • Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of load control processing executed by the load control unit 35.
  • This load control processing is started as a part of image forming processing when an image forming command and image data that is an image forming target are received from an external print server or the like.
  • the image data in this case may be image data of a single sheet (one page) of a recording medium that is a target to be output or may be image data of each page in image data of a plurality of pages .
  • the load control processing may be started in accordance with a data input start timing, a data processing start timing, or the like of each band.
  • the CPU 351 When the load control processing is started, the CPU 351 first starts the DC/DC conversion unit 31 and the compensation circuit 32 and performs initial setting (Step S201). In this state, a drive voltage is output to the inkjet head 70 and then is not applied to the load element (piezoelectric element) of each nozzle, which is the non-driving state.
  • the control unit 10 permits the CPU 351 to read raster image data that is an image forming target, and the CPU 351 starts reading data of each row of the raster image data (Step S202).
  • the CPU 351 determines whether to eject ink from the nozzles in the read lines and counts the number (the number of operations) of nozzles that eject ink (Step S203).
  • the CPU 351 determines whether or not the counted number of ink ejection nozzles is "0" (Step S204) . In the case where it is determined that the number of ink ejection nozzles is "0" ("YES" in Step S204), processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S207. At this time, the CPU 351 counts the number of rows in which the number of ink ejection nozzles is continuously determined to be "0".
  • Step S204 the CPU 351 determines whether or not the number of ink ejection nozzles has been "0" in consecutive "N+X” or more rows before a previous row (Step S205) . In the case where it is determined that the number of ink ejection nozzles has not been "0" in the consecutive "N+X” or more rows ("NO” in Step S205), the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S207.
  • Step S205 the CPU 351 turns on (sets) a flag indicating that ink ejection is started or restarted in a state in which ink ejection has not been performed (Step S206). Then, the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S207.
  • Step S207 the CPU 351 determines whether or not the flag is on. In the case where it is determined that the flag is not on ("NO" in Step S207), the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S211. In the case where it is determined that the flag is on ("YES” in Step S207), the CPU 351 determines whether or not a value of the number of ink ejection nozzles for "X" rows has been acquired since the flag had been turned on (Step S208) . In the case where it is determined that the value has not been acquired ("NO” in Step S208), the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S211.
  • the CPU 351 determines an output voltage control level from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 on the basis of the acquired value of the number of ink ejection nozzles (Step S209).
  • the CPU 351 starts control of the drive voltage in accordance with the determined output voltage control level (Step S210). Then, the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S211.
  • Step S211 the CPU 351 determines whether or not the flag is in an on state and the drive voltage has been controlled during input/output of the raster image data for N rows. In the case where it is determined that the flag is in the on state and the drive voltage has been controlled during input/output of the raster image data for the N rows ("YES" in Step S211), the CPU 351 terminates the control of the drive voltage and turns off (resets) the flag (Step S212) . Then, the processing of the CPU 351 proceeds to Step S213. In the case where it is determined that the flag is not in the on state or the drive voltage has not been controlled during input/output of the raster image data for the N rows ("NO" in Step S211), the processing of the CPU 351 directly proceeds to Step S213.
  • the CPU 351 When the processing proceeds to processing in Step S213, the CPU 351 outputs the oldest data that is currently stored in the RAM 352 to the inkjet head 70 (Step S213). At this time, in the processing in Step S212, the CPU 351 transmits a command to the inkjet head 70 so that the inkjet head 70 changes over to the driving state at the same time that the CPU 351 cancels the control of the drive voltage, and therefore the non-driving state is maintained immediately before driving operation is started.
  • the CPU 351 determines whether or not data of all rows related to the image to be output has been output (Step S214) . In the case where it is determined that the data of all the rows has not been output (there is data that has not been output yet) ("NO" in Step S214), the processing of the CPU 351 returns to Step S203. In the case where it is determined that the data of all the rows has been output (“YES” in Step S214), the CPU 351 performs setting related to termination of output of the drive voltage (Step S215). The CPU 351 can cause the inkjet head 70 to change over to the non-driving state after driving of the inkjet head 70 related to data of a row that has been last output is terminated. Then, the load control processing is terminated.
  • the case where a determination result is "YES" in the determination processing in Step S205 can include the case where a margin at the top of a page at the time of start of image formation is shifted to an image forming range and the case where, in the case where a blank part is included in the middle of image formation, the blank part is shifted to an image forming part.
  • the inkjet head can temporarily change over to the non-driving state in the case where the determination results are "YES" in the consecutive (N+X) rows in the processing in Step S204. With this, operation of the nozzles in the head drive unit 71 is not performed in a blank part.
  • the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes: the inkjet head 70 in which the plurality of nozzles is arranged; the head drive unit 71 for supplying a drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 (piezoelectric element) of each of the nozzles on the basis of image data to be formed and operating the pressurization mechanism 72; the voltage control unit 30 for performing control operation so as to suppress a change in the drive voltage to be supplied to the head drive unit 71; the resistor element 33 connected to the voltage control unit 30 and provided to correspond to the pressurization mechanism 72 (piezoelectric element) ; the switching element 34 for switching whether to supply an output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 to the resistor element 33; and the load control unit 35 for controlling the switching element 34 so that the output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is supplied to the resistor element 33 before a supply start timing at which supply of the output voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 is started and in at least a part of a period in which the drive voltage is not supplied to any pressurization mechanism 72
  • the output voltage is supplied in advance to the resistor element 33 from the DC/DC conversion unit 31, it is possible to apply in advance a load corresponding to a load related to the ink ejection operation to the DC/DC conversion unit 31.
  • This makes it possible to achieve a state in which the output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 (i.e., the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72) has already been reduced at the time of start of the ink ejection operation.
  • a change in the drive voltage generated at the supply start time of the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 can be reduced more easily than before . This makes it possible to form an image having a stable density by suppressing reduction of density of ink or generation of unevenness thereof in the vicinity of the top of the formed image.
  • Supply of the drive voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 to the pressurization mechanism 72 is started in a state in which the output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is reduced by supplying the output voltage (drive voltage) to the resistor element 33, and therefore it is possible to reduce a magnitude or length of an abrupt change in the drive voltage generated when the non-driving state changes over to the driving state.
  • An amount of reduction of the drive voltage at a supply start time of supplying the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 is controlled to be equal to or less than an amount of reduction of the output voltage at the supply start time of supplying the output voltage from the DC/DC conversion unit 31 to the resistor element 33, and therefore it is possible to suppress more effectively the change in the drive voltage at the time of start (restart) of image formation and therefore to reduce generation of unevenness and the like of density of ink.
  • the amount of reduction of the drive voltage at the supply start time of supplying the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 of the nozzle is controlled to be smaller than an amount of reduction of the drive voltage at a virtual supply start time of supplying the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 without supplying the output voltage to the resistor element 33 as shown in Fig. 3A , i.e., a supply period of the output voltage to the resistor element 33 is appropriately defined, and therefore it is possible to easily reduce generation of unevenness of density of ink caused by the change in the drive voltage at the supply start timing of the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 thereafter.
  • the load control unit 35 controls the switching element 34 so as to supply the output voltage to the resistor element 33 from a response time or more before the supply start timing at which the drive voltage is supplied to the pressurization mechanism 72 of the nozzle until the supply start timing. That is, the output voltage is supplied to the resistor element 33 for a suitable time until the drive voltage is reduced in accordance with the load of the resistor element 33 and is stabilized, and therefore it is possible to suppress more effectively the change in the drive voltage at the supply start time of the drive voltage. Further, it is unnecessary to cause a current to unnecessarily flow through the resistor element 33, and therefore it is possible to suppress an unnecessary increase in consumption power.
  • the supply start timing of the drive voltage includes a timing at which the drive voltage is supplied to the pressurization mechanism 72 of the nozzle at the time of start of image formation of one page. That is, a change in the drive voltage, which is caused by interrupting driving of the pressurization mechanism 72 between pages in the case where image formation is performed in the unit of page, is effectively suppressed every time, and therefore it is possible to suppress unevenness of density of ink or the like from being generated in the vicinity of the top of each page.
  • the conveyance unit 60 for conveying a recording medium P on which an image is to be formed by the inkjet head 70 is provided, and the conveyance unit 60 includes the encoder 61. A position of the recording medium P relative to the nozzle is acquired by the encoder 61 measuring a moving distance of the recording medium P after conveyance is started.
  • the supply start timing of the drive voltage is a timing at which the recording medium P conveyed by the conveyance unit 60 is conveyed by the conveyance unit 60 to a position at which, in a conveyance direction in which the recording medium P is conveyed by the conveyance unit 60, the position (printing start position) of the recording medium P relative to the plurality of nozzles set with respect to the recording medium P is overlapped on a position at which the nozzles start ejecting ink.
  • the moving distance of the recording medium P before the supply start timing of the drive voltage corresponding to the response time is calculated back on the basis of conveyance speed at which the recording medium P is conveyed by the encoder 61, and therefore it is possible to appropriately turn on the switching element 34 to thereby supply the drive voltage to the resistor element 33 a time corresponding to the response time before.
  • an inkjet head has a predetermined length in a conveyance direction while reciprocatively moving in the width direction of the recording medium P which is a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction along a guide rail by using a power source (for example, motor) and forms, on the recording medium P, an image in the unit of band (image of one band) extending over the width of the recording medium P in the width direction.
  • the conveyance unit 60 forms the whole image by repeating operation of moving the recording medium P at the above-described each predetermined length every time when the image in the unit of band is formed.
  • a moving distance of the recording head in the width direction be measured by further providing, in addition to the encoder 61 described above, a second encoder (second measurement unit) in a rotating shaft of the motor for reciprocatively moving the recording head and setting one end of the width direction in which the recording head is reciprocatively moved to "0".
  • the supply start timing of the drive voltage is a time at which the recording medium P conveyed by the conveyance unit 60 reaches the printing start position set with respect to the recording medium P and the recording head moves to a position of the recording medium relative to the plurality of recording elements in the direction in which the recording head set with respect to the recording medium P reciprocatively moves. Therefore, in the case where the scanning image forming apparatus is used, the moving distance at which the recording medium P is moved by the conveyance unit 60 and the moving distance of the recording head that is reciprocatively moved by the power source are set as the printing start position.
  • the moving distance of the recording head is measured by providing the second encoder in the rotating shaft of the motor for reciprocatively moving the recording head and setting one end of the width direction in which the recording head is reciprocatively moved to "0".
  • the moving distance of the recording head may be measured by separately providing a linear scale in the guide rail and reading the linear scale with the use of an optical sensor such as a CCD camera or a magnetic sensor.
  • This configuration as well as the one-pass inkjet recording apparatus, can also appropriately acquire in advance the supply start timing of the drive voltage to thereby apply the output voltage to the resistor element 33 in an appropriate period and can reduce the change in the drive voltage at the supply start time of the drive voltage.
  • driving of the pressurization mechanism 72 is interrupted every time when an image of one band is formed, and therefore, by applying the output voltage to the resistor element 33 in advance in accordance with the supply start timing of the drive voltage related to start of image formation of each band, it is possible to reduce the change in the drive voltage at the time of the start of image formation of each band and unevenness of density of ink caused by this change.
  • a load amount which is 50% of the load amount applied to the voltage control unit 30 (DC/DC conversion unit 31) in the case where the drive voltage is supplied to all the nozzles of the inkjet head 70, is set as the magnitude of the load amount generated in the inkjet head 70, control can be performed more easily, and a magnitude of shift from an actual load amount can be reduced by half, as compared with a conventional load amount.
  • the load control unit 35 adjusts, with the PWM control, a period in which the output voltage (drive voltage) is applied to the resistor element 33 so that the load caused by the resistor element 33 has a magnitude determined in advance, and therefore it is possible to apply an appropriate load to the DC/DC conversion unit 31 with easy control by using a single resistor element 33 without unnecessarily increasing constituent elements.
  • the load control unit 35 includes the RAM 352 for sequentially storing image data to be formed and the CPU 351.
  • the CPU 351 serving as the output determination means determines whether to operate the pressurization mechanism 72 of at least one nozzle in each row in which image formation of the stored image data to be formed is simultaneously performed, and, in the case where data of a row in which the pressurization mechanism 72 of at least one nozzle is operated is acquired, the CPU 351 applies the drive voltage to the resistor element 33 after the head drive unit 71 applies the drive voltage to the pressurization mechanism 72 on the basis of the data of the row until the pressurization mechanism 72 is operated.
  • the term "simultaneously” indicates a range in which output periods of drive voltage pulse are partially or fully overlapped.
  • the CPU 351 serving as the output determination means counts the number (the number of operations) of pressurization mechanisms 72 operated in each row on the basis of data of the each row stored in the RAM 352, and the load control unit 35 determines the magnitude of the load caused by the resistor element 33 on the basis of the number of operations of the nozzles in first X rows after the head drive unit 71 changes over from the non-driving state to the driving state. That is, the output voltage of the DC/DC conversion unit 31 is changed in advance to a corresponding drop voltage in accordance with a magnitude of voltage drop from the non-driving state to the driving state, and therefore it is possible to suppress more effectively a change in the voltage after operation of the pressurization mechanisms 72 is actually started.
  • the voltage is supplied to the resistor element 33 the response time before, the response time being equal to or longer than a time required for outputting data of two or more rows, and therefore it is possible to stabilize in advance a supply voltage at a level corresponding to the number of operations of the nozzles by effectively using raster data of an image to be formed which has been stored in the RAM 352.
  • the present invention is particularly applied to an inkjet recording apparatus including the inkjet head 70 for ejecting ink to form an image, the inkjet head 70 being an inkjet head in which the plurality of nozzles is arranged, it is possible to form an image while further stabilizing density of ink which sensitively reacts to the drive voltage.
  • the voltage supplied to the piezoelectric element that is a load element is stably controlled, and therefore it is possible to accurately control a deformation amount of the piezoelectric element to suppress generation of unevenness of a formed image.
  • image data is actually acquired and whether to drive the head drive unit 71 is determined in advance.
  • image data may be output to the inkjet head 70 after the load is simply applied by the resistor element 33 for about a response time.
  • information about lines in which the nozzle is not continuously operated may be generated in advance in the case where raster image data for forming an image is generated, and the load control unit 35 may operate the switching element 34 on the basis of the information, instead of performing control in real time.
  • the DC/DC converter and the compensation circuit are used to output the drive voltage.
  • the drive voltage may be output by using another configuration related to DC voltage control, such as a 3-terminal regulator.
  • the resistor element 33 is not limited to one resistor. A plurality of resistors may be arranged in series or in parallel and may be collectively or individually subjected to switching control. As the resistor element 33, an element for limiting a current such as a constant current diode may be used.
  • the CPU 351 counts the number of ink ejection nozzles.
  • the flag may be a flag for simply determining whether to eject ink.
  • the load caused by the resistor element 33 is set to a fixed value without depending on the number of ink ejection nozzles.
  • the fixed value may be an average value or may correspond to a load generated in the case where 1/2 of all the center nozzles is driven (eject ink) . With this, it is possible to reduce an amount of voltage change by at least half while further simplifying processing without changing the simple circuit configuration shown in Fig. 2 .
  • the invention is not limited thereto.
  • the nozzles that are arranged in a pattern over a plurality of rows are considered as one block and all the nozzles simultaneously eject ink
  • the head drive unit 71 may be provided outside the inkjet head 70.
  • a head drive unit for generating only a drive waveform on the basis of a drive voltage and drive pulse can be provided outside the inkjet head 70 and switching control of whether to output the drive waveform to the pressurization mechanism 72 can be performed in the inkjet head 70 on the basis of signals obtained by decoding image data.
  • the inkjet recording apparatus has been described an example.
  • the present invention can also be applied to another apparatus for forming an image by using a combination of pixel points from a plurality of output elements, such as an LED printer.
  • the present invention can be applied to a piezoelectric inkjet recording apparatus, and, in addition, the present invention can be applied for suppressing a change in a voltage applied to a heater resistor that is a load element in a thermal inkjet recording apparatus.
  • the present invention can be used for image forming apparatuses.

Landscapes

  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)

Claims (14)

  1. Appareil de formation d'image, comprenant :
    une tête d'enregistrement (70) comprenant une pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement, chaque élément d'enregistrement étant formé par une combinaison d'une buse, d'un canal correspondant à celle-ci et d'un mécanisme de pressurisation, la tête d'enregistrement (70) étant une tête de ligne dans laquelle la pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement est prévue de sorte qu'une pluralité de buses soit agencée sur une largeur d'un support d'enregistrement, et configurée pour former une image dans chaque rangée ou ligne s'étendant dans une direction de largeur ;
    une unité d'entraînement (71) configurée pour fournir une tension d'entraînement à un élément de charge (72) de chacun de la pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement sur la base de données d'image à former et actionnant l'élément de charge (72) ;
    une unité de commande de tension (30) configurée pour réaliser la commande de sorte à supprimer un changement de tension d'entraînement à fournir à l'unité d'entraînement (71) ;
    un élément de résistance (33) relié à l'unité de commande de tension (30) et prévu pour correspondre à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement ;
    un élément de commutation (34) configuré pour commuter l'alimentation de la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33) ; et
    une unité de commande de charge (35) configurée pour déterminer un état de non-entraînement, dans lequel un nombre compté de buses d'éjection d'encre est de « 0 » pour un nombre prédéterminé de rangées consécutives (N+X) ou plus, et configurée pour commander l'élément de commutation (34) de sorte à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33) dans le cas où l'état de non-entraînement change en un état d'entraînement, dans lequel l'opération liée à l'application de tension est réalisée et une tension d'entraînement est tout d'abord appliquée pour commencer l'opération de l'élément d'enregistrement avant un moment de démarrage d'alimentation, auquel la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement et dans au moins une partie d'une période, dans laquelle la tension d'entraînement n'est pas fournie à l'un quelconque élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement.
  2. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour commander le démarrage d'alimentation de la tension d'alimentation à l'élément de charge (72) dans un état, dans lequel la tension d'entraînement est réduite par fourniture de la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33).
  3. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour commander une quantité de réduction de la tension d'entraînement à un moment de démarrage d'alimentation consistant à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement de sorte à être égale ou inférieure à une quantité de réduction de la tension d'entraînement à un moment de démarrage d'alimentation consistant à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33).
  4. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel
    l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour commander une quantité de réduction de la tension d'entraînement à un moment de démarrage d'alimentation consistant à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement de sorte à être inférieure à une quantité de réduction de la tension d'entraînement au temps du moment de démarrage d'alimentation virtuel consistant à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement sans fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33).
  5. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans lequel
    lorsqu'un temps après que la tension d'entraînement est changée dans le cas où la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de résistance (33) jusqu'à ce que la tension d'entraînement converge à une tension d'entraînement prédéterminée est défini comme étant un temps de réponse,
    l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour commander l'élément de commutation (34) de sorte à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33) depuis le temps de réponse ou plus avant le moment de démarrage d'alimentation, auquel la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement jusqu'au moment de démarrage d'alimentation.
  6. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5, configuré de sorte que le moment de démarrage d'alimentation comporte un moment, auquel la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement au moment du démarrage de la formation d'image d'une page.
  7. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5, comprenant
    une unité de transport (60) pour le transport d'un support d'enregistrement, sur lequel une image doit être formée par la tête d'enregistrement, dans lequel
    l'unité de transport (60) comporte une première unité de mesure pour la mesure d'une position du support d'enregistrement par rapport à la pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement dans une direction de transport du support d'enregistrement, et
    le moment de démarrage d'alimentation est un moment, auquel le support d'enregistrement est transporté par l'unité de transport à une position, dans laquelle la position du support d'enregistrement par rapport à la pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement dans la direction de transport du support d'enregistrement réglé par rapport au support d'enregistrement est chevauchée sur une position, dans laquelle les éléments d'enregistrement sont amenés à démarrer l'opération relative au démarrage d'impression sur le support d'enregistrement.
  8. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 7, dans lequel
    l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour régler, comme une grandeur d'une quantité de charge causée par l'élément de résistance (33), une quantité de charge qui est de 50% d'une quantité de charge appliquée à l'unité de commande de tension (30) dans le cas où la tension d'entraînement est fournie à tous les éléments de charge (72) de la pluralité d'éléments d'enregistrement.
  9. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 8, dans lequel l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour ajuster, avec une commande PWM, une période, dans laquelle la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de résistance (33) de sorte que la quantité de charge causée par l'élément de résistance (33) présente la grandeur réglée.
  10. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'unité de commande de charge (35) comporte
    une unité de stockage tampon (352) configurée pour stocker de manière séquentielle des données d'image à former, et
    un moyen de détermination de sortie (351) configuré pour déterminer s'il faut actionner au moins un élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement dans chaque bloc dans lequel la formation d'image des données d'image stockées à former est simultanément réalisée, et
    dans le cas où le moyen de détermination de sortie (351) acquiert des données d'un bloc, dans lequel l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement est actionné, la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de résistance (33) jusqu'à ce que l'élément de charge (72) soit actionné par l'unité d'entraînement sur la base des données du bloc.
  11. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 10, dans lequel
    le moyen de détermination de sortie (351) est configuré pour compter le nombre d'opérations des éléments de charge (72) des éléments d'enregistrement (70) actionnés dans chaque bloc, et
    l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour déterminer une grandeur d'une quantité de charge causée par l'élément de résistance (33) sur la base du nombre d'opérations dans un premier nombre prédéterminé de blocs après que l'unité d'entraînement change de l'état de non-entraînement à l'état d'entraînement.
  12. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 10 ou 11, dans lequel
    lorsqu'un temps après que la tension d'entraînement est changée dans le cas où la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de résistance (33) jusqu'à ce que la tension d'entraînement converge à une tension d'entraînement prédéterminée est défini comme étant un temps de réponse,
    l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée pour commander l'élément de commutation (34) de sorte à fournir la tension d'entraînement à l'élément de résistance (33) depuis le temps de réponse ou plus avant le moment de démarrage d'alimentation, auquel la tension d'entraînement est fournie à l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement jusqu'au moment de démarrage d'alimentation.
  13. Appareil de formation d'image selon la revendication 12, dans lequel l'unité de commande de charge (35) est configurée de sorte que le temps de réponse soit égal ou supérieur à un temps requis pour la formation d'une image de deux blocs.
  14. Appareil de formation d'image selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 13, dans lequel
    l'élément de charge (72) de l'élément d'enregistrement est un élément piézoélectrique.
EP15739806.6A 2014-01-24 2015-01-09 Dispositif de formation d'image Active EP3098073B1 (fr)

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PCT/JP2015/050489 WO2015111451A1 (fr) 2014-01-24 2015-01-09 Dispositif de formation d'image

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JP6972684B2 (ja) * 2017-06-15 2021-11-24 コニカミノルタ株式会社 記録装置及び記録ヘッド電圧設定方法
JP2020082656A (ja) * 2018-11-30 2020-06-04 株式会社リコー ヘッドモジュール、ヘッドユニット、液体吐出ユニット、液体を吐出する装置

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JP3610279B2 (ja) * 2000-04-03 2005-01-12 キヤノン株式会社 記録ヘッドおよび該記録ヘッドを備えた記録装置
JP2002254648A (ja) 2001-03-05 2002-09-11 Canon Inc 記録ヘッド、キャリッジ、それらを用いる画像記録装置およびそれらの制御方法
JP2003237056A (ja) 2002-02-19 2003-08-26 Canon Inc インクジェット記録装置及びその制御方法、プログラム
JP2006256151A (ja) * 2005-03-17 2006-09-28 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd 画像形成装置及び液体吐出状態判定方法
JP4761520B2 (ja) * 2005-08-02 2011-08-31 キヤノン株式会社 記録装置及び電力供給制御方法
JP5256713B2 (ja) * 2007-11-29 2013-08-07 セイコーエプソン株式会社 容量性負荷の駆動回路、液体噴射装置及び印刷装置

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