JP2000052623A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit data surely to a recording head stably at high speed by disposing conversion means of data to an optical signal and an optical fiber for transmitting converted data to the recording head side, in a recording device provided with a recording head in which a set recording device carriers out a one-time recording operation. SOLUTION: A recording device includes a recording head that has recording devices of (n) pieces (n>=2), and in which each recording device of (n) pieces performs once recording operation on the basis of data of (m) bits (m>=n), wherein there are provided with means for converting data into an optical signal and means for transmitting data converted into an optical signal to the recording head side. Concretely, on a substrate 6 having a printer control circuit mounted, a transmitting optical connector 7 is provided for converting an electrical signal into an optical signal by a light emitting element so as to be combined to the optical fiber 8, and also, on the recording head side 2 a receiving optical connector 9 is provided for converting the optical signal receiving by being combined to the optical fiber 8 into an electrical signal by a light receiving element.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a recording apparatus that transmits data to a recording head by an optical signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a printing mechanism used in a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine or the like, for example, a printing mechanism of an ink-jet printing apparatus has a printing mechanism having a printing device such as an ink-jet head on a carriage guide 101 as shown in FIG. A carriage 102 on which a head is mounted is slidably mounted, and a conveyance roller (platen roller) 104 for guiding and conveying the recording medium 103 and a guide roller 105
Are provided, and the carriage 102 is moved in the main scanning direction.
While transporting the recording medium 103 in the sub-scanning direction, ink droplets are ejected from the recording head of the carriage 102 to record on the recording medium 103 (also referred to as “printing” or “printing”).
I do.

Here, an ink jet head constituting a recording head has n nozzles, a pressurized liquid chamber in which each nozzle communicates, and energy for pressurizing each pressurized liquid chamber to discharge ink droplets from the nozzle. , For example, an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element or an electrothermal conversion element such as a heater. The carriage 102 has a drive circuit for driving each energy generating means of the recording head and a receiving circuit for transferring received data to the drive circuit.

[0004] A board 106 on which a printer control circuit for controlling the entire recording apparatus is mounted is provided on the apparatus main body side.
The printer control circuit of the substrate 106 and the carriage 102
Are connected via a flexible printed cable 107.

FIG. 9 shows a portion related to data transmission between a recording head and a printer control circuit in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a printer control circuit 111 includes a carriage 102 on which a recording head is mounted.
A transmission circuit 113 for transmitting drive data and power supply is provided on the side, and a shift register 114 for converting n-bit data transmitted serially into parallel data on the carriage 102 side, and a recording device (for example, Device driving circuit 116 for driving the energy generating means 115 of the
6 is an output of the shift register 114 and an enable signal EN.
The recording device 115 is driven by ABLE.

A sequence until the ink droplets are ejected from the recording head will be described with reference to FIG. 10. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a reset signal is sent from a transmission circuit 113 in the printer control circuit 111. RESE
T to the shift register 11 on the carriage 102 side
Reset 4

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, the print data determined by the printer control circuit 111 is temporarily converted into serial data and output as data DATA.
At this time, the clock signal CL for data latch is simultaneously supplied to the shift register 114 as shown in FIG.
OCK is transmitted, and the data D is stored in the shift register 114.
ATA is latched (received). By sending an enable signal ENABLE from the printer control circuit 111 after sending n-bit data DATA as shown in FIG. 3B, the device drive circuit 116 drives the recording device 115 in accordance with the data DATA. One recording operation is completed after the ink droplet is ejected.

As means for transferring data from such a printer control circuit to the recording head side (carriage side), a transmission signal is transmitted as described in JP-A-7-214869 and JP-A-5-246109. Once converted to an optical signal and sent from a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode,
It is known that data transmission is performed by directly receiving the light by a light receiving element on the recording head side (carriage side).

[0009]

By the way, with the recent increase in definition of images and speeding up of printing time, high integration and high density of recording devices, and multi-coloring of inks by colorization, recording has been advanced. The data transfer rate to the head must be faster. In this case, if data transmission is performed using an electric cable as before, for example, when printing 10 A4 size images per minute at 1200 dpi, data of at least 23.2 Mbit / sec or more is required. A transfer rate is required, and even if an attempt is made to reduce the transfer rate per line by increasing the number of data lines in order to cope with this, the thickness and width of the cable become large, and the device becomes large.

When the head moves as in a serial type recording apparatus, a cable length that is at least equal to the length of the sheet (recording medium) to be set in the main scanning direction is required, and the length of the cable from the data line is required. As the emission of electromagnetic noise increases, it is necessary to take countermeasures. In addition, external electromagnetic noise is also likely to be carried, so that countermeasures are also required.

Therefore, as described above, a method for transmitting data by spatially transmitting an optical signal has been proposed. However, if spatial transmission is performed, there is a possibility that adverse effects of reflection in the internal space of the recording apparatus may occur. is there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a recording apparatus capable of transmitting data to a recording head stably at high speed and reliably.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus having n (n ≧ 2) recording devices, based on m-bit (m ≧ n) data. Means for converting data into an optical signal, and transmitting the data converted to an optical signal to the recording head side in a recording apparatus having a recording head in which each of the n recording devices performs a single recording operation. An optical fiber was provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the first aspect, means for latching m data and means for exclusive OR are provided on the data transmitting side and the data receiving side, respectively. , The k-th time (k
In the operation of .gtoreq.2), the exclusive OR of the (k-1) th m pieces of recording data and the kth m pieces of data is obtained for each corresponding bit, and the output of this exclusive OR is transmitted. Recording operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the first aspect, the transmitting side is provided with means for converting m-bit parallel data into serial data, and the receiving side is provided with a means for converting the received serial data. A means for converting the data into one parallel operation and a means for generating one pulse upon receiving the data of one recording operation are provided. The receiving side performs a serial-to-parallel conversion and performs the recording operation once by the pulse.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the third aspect, the transmitting side includes: a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with a clock signal for data latch; Means for transmitting the serial data of the data, a receiving side, a means for generating a first clock signal having the same frequency as the transfer cycle of the transmission data, and a first clock signal based on the reception of the reference pulse. Means for generating a second clock signal for data reception from the clock signal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the third aspect, the transmitting side includes a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with a clock signal for data latch, and an m bit for driving following the reference pulse. A means for transmitting a serial clock signal, and a receiving means for generating a first clock signal having a frequency three times the transfer cycle of the transmission data;
Means for generating a second clock signal for data reception from the first clock signal with reference to a next clock signal at the time of reception of the reference pulse, wherein a rise time and a rise time of data received on the reception side are provided. The falling times are each 以下 or less of the clock cycle of the first clock signal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the first aspect, the optical fiber is made of a plastic optical fiber.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this mechanism, a carriage 2 is mounted on a carriage guide 1 so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction, and a recording head is mounted on the carriage guide 1. Although not shown in detail, the recording head has n (n ≧ 2) nozzles, an ink liquid chamber (pressurized liquid chamber) corresponding to each nozzle, and a pressurized liquid chamber corresponding to each nozzle. An energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer such as a piezoelectric element or an electrothermal transducer such as a heater for generating energy for pressurizing the ink is provided.
Further, a transport roller (platen store) 4 and a guide roller 5 for transporting the recording medium 3 in the sub-scanning direction are provided.

A transmission optical connector 7 for converting an electric signal into an optical signal by a light emitting element and coupling the optical signal to an optical fiber 8 is provided on a substrate 6 on which the printer control circuit is mounted, and is provided on the carriage 2 side (recording head side). Is provided with a receiving optical connector 9 which is coupled to the optical fiber 8 and converts a received optical signal into an electric signal by a light receiving element. Optical fiber 8
As a result, a plastic optical fiber is used, so that the cost can be reduced as compared with a quartz optical fiber.

Next, a part related to data transmission in the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an entire portion related to data transmission, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a transmission circuit on the printer control circuit side, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a reception circuit on the carriage side. First, the print head mounted on the carriage 2 has n print devices 11 and each print device 11.
And a device driving circuit 12 for driving the device. Here, the term “printing device” includes a nozzle that ejects ink droplets, a pressurized liquid chamber to which the nozzle communicates, and an energy generating unit that pressurizes ink in the pressurized liquid chamber. "" Means that the energy generating means is driven.

The printer control circuit 14 has a recording device 1
A driving data generating circuit 15 for generating driving data for driving the nozzles 1 to eject ink droplets from the nozzles; a transmitting circuit 16 for transmitting the driving data and the like generated by the driving data generating circuit 15; ing. Transmission circuit 16
Is connected to the transmission connector 7 including a light emitting element 17 for converting data or the like to be transmitted to the carriage 2 into an optical signal.

A printer control circuit 14 is provided on the carriage 2 side.
And a light receiving element 19 for converting data and the like transmitted as an optical signal from the transmission circuit 16 through the optical fiber 8 into an electric signal. The receiving connector 9 is connected.

The transmission circuit 16 of the printer control circuit 14
As shown in FIG. 3, m latch circuits 2 holding the m-bit drive data generated by the drive data generation circuit 15 are provided.
1 and m logic elements 22 which take the exclusive OR of each drive data and the output of each latch circuit 21, and outputs of the m logic elements 22 are input to convert m-bit parallel data into serial data. And an m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit 23 for converting m-bit drive data into serial data. Here, at the time of the k-th operation (k ≧ 2) counted from the printing operation, the logic element 22 outputs (k
-1) An exclusive OR of the m-th drive data and the k-th m-th drive data is transmitted as drive data.

A reference pulse generation circuit 24 for generating a reference pulse synchronized with a clock signal for data latch on the receiving side, a transmission control circuit 25 for performing transmission control, and a control signal of the transmission control circuit 25 A selector 26 for selectively outputting the m-bit drive data from the parallel-serial conversion circuit 23 and the reference pulse from the reference pulse generation circuit 24; and an optical signal which outputs the drive data and the reference pulse electrical signal output from the selector 26. And an electro-optical conversion circuit 27 including a light-emitting element 17 for converting the data into a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with a clock signal for a data latch on the receiving side, and m-bit drive data (m) for subsequent drive. (Serial data) is converted to an optical signal and transmitted.

On the other hand, the receiving circuit 18 on the carriage 2 side
As shown in FIG. 4, an amplifier 31 for amplifying the output of the light receiving element 19 for reception, a comparator 32 for converting the amplified signal output to an appropriate level, and a rising edge of the received signal, that is, a signal added to the beginning of the drive data An edge detection circuit 33 for detecting a rising edge of the reference pulse, an oscillation circuit 34 for generating a first clock signal having the same frequency as a transfer cycle of data transmitted from the printer control circuit 14,
An m + 1-bit counter 35 is provided which outputs a single pulse when the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 34 is input and (m + 1) -bits are counted.

A counter state detecting circuit 36 for generating a signal in accordance with the output of the m + 1 bit counter 35;
A bit shift register 37; a logic element 38 for calculating the logical sum of the output of the edge detection circuit 33 and the output of the counter state detection circuit 36; and the output of the logic element 38 and the oscillation circuit 34
Element 3 for ANDing with first clock signal from
9 to generate and output the second clock signal for data reception from the logic element 39 based on the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 34 based on the reception of the transmission-side reference pulse.

The m + 1 bit counter 35 is provided for the oscillation circuit 3
When the count operation is determined by the output operation of the logic element 38 and the count output becomes (m + 1), one pulse is output to the device drive circuit 16. Counter status detection circuit 36
Outputs “0” when the count value of the m + 1 bit counter 35 is “0”, and outputs “1” otherwise. m
The bit shift register 37 takes in the output of the comparator 32 (m-bit drive data of the received data) using the second clock signal output from the logic element 39 as a shift clock, and converts the serial drive data into parallel drive data. Convert to

Then, the m-bit shift register 37
A latch circuit 40 for latching m-bit drive data output from the MPU, and an exclusive OR of each of the m-bit drive data output from the m-bit shift register 37 and the data latched by each latch circuit 40. Logic element 4
1 and the m-bit drive data output from the logic element 41 is input to the device drive circuit 12.
Here, at the time of the k-th (k ≧ 2) operation counted from the printing operation, the logic element 41 performs an exclusive logic operation of the (k−1) -th m drive data and the k-th m-th drive data. The summed output is provided to the device drive circuit 12.

Next, a data transmission operation in the ink jet recording apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows signals of each unit when the recording operation is performed once. First, the drive data generation circuit 15 of the printer control circuit 14 generates m (m ≧ n) drive data of n recording devices 11 of the carriage 2 at a predetermined position based on a print image. The m outputs from the drive data generation circuit 15 are input to the m latch circuits 21 and latched. At this time, in the case of the second or later (k ≧ 2 k-th) recording operation, since the latch circuit 21 holds the immediately preceding (k−1) -th drive data, the m logic elements Reference numeral 22 denotes an exclusive OR of the previous drive data and the new drive data, and outputs m-bit parallel data (drive data) to the m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit 23.

The m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit 23 converts m-bit parallel data into serial data and outputs the serial data to the selector 26. When data is transferred from the reference pulse generation circuit 24 to the selector 26, a reference pulse is always input as shown in FIG. Therefore, by controlling the selector 26 by the transmission control circuit 25, a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with the data reception timing clock (data latch clock signal) is added to the head as shown in FIG. The (m + 1) -bit serial drive data is supplied to the electro-optical conversion circuit 27, which converts the drive data into an optical signal and outputs the optical signal. To the receiving circuit 18.

The receiving circuit 18 on the carriage 2 converts the drive data of the optical signal transmitted via the optical fiber 8 into an electric signal by the light receiving element 19, amplifies the electric signal by the amplifier 31, and a predetermined digital signal by the comparator 32. Convert to In this case, the edge detection circuit 33 detects the rising edge of the received signal, that is, the rising edge of the reference pulse added to the head of the drive data, and gives a detection signal to the logic element 38. "1" from the time when the rising edge of the reference clock is detected as shown in).
Is output. Thereby, the logic element 39
Outputs the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 34 shown in FIG. 3C, and the logic element 39 generates the second clock signal for data reception as shown in FIG. M-bit shift register 37 as a shift clock
Given to.

Therefore, the m-bit shift register 37
Captures the received data output from the comparator 32, but since the m-bit shift register 37 can capture only m-bit data, the m-bit shift register 37 finally captures only the m-bit drive data excluding the reference pulse. Will be. Then, the m-bit data of the m-bit shift register 37 is supplied to the latch circuit 40 and the logic element 41, and is demodulated from the logic element 41 into the original m drive data as shown in FIG. The drive data is output to the device drive circuit 12. At this time, during the second (k ≧ 2 k-th) or later recording operation, the (k−1) -th time held in the latch circuit 40, that is, 1
The exclusive OR with the previous data is calculated.

Then, the m-1 bit counter 35 counts the first clock signal for m + 1 bits from the reception of the reference pulse to the reception of m bits of drive data, and the count value becomes m + 1. Sometimes the same figure (f)
As shown in (1), one pulse is output to the device driving circuit 12, so that the device driving circuit 12 drives the recording device 11 based on the output data of the logic element 41 to perform a recording operation. Further, a pulse from the m + 1-bit counter 35 is supplied to the latch circuit 40, and the driving data of the m-bit shift register 37 is latched.

As described above, by transmitting the drive data by providing the means for converting the data to the optical signal and the optical fiber for transmitting the data converted to the optical signal to the recording head side, the external electromagnetic noise High-speed and reliable data transmission can be performed without being affected by the influence and radiated electromagnetic noise.

In this case, means for latching m data and means for exclusive OR are provided on the data transmitting side and the data receiving side, respectively, and the k-th time (k ≧ k) counted from the printing start operation. In the operation 2), the exclusive OR of the (k-1) th m pieces of recording data and the kth m pieces of data is calculated for each corresponding bit, and the output of this exclusive OR is transmitted. By performing the recording operation,
The signal transmission is performed only when the m pieces of drive data change in each recording operation, and when recording an image with little change in data, the number of data transitions of the transmission signal is suppressed. Is reduced, electromagnetic noise is suppressed, and the number of times of switching is reduced, so that current consumption can be reduced and noise resistance can be improved.

On the transmitting side, means for converting m-bit parallel data into serial data is provided. On the receiving side, means for converting received serial data into parallel data, and data for one recording operation. Means for generating a single pulse when the data is received. The data of n single recording operations is converted from parallel to serial and transmitted. By performing the recording operation once,
The recording device can be driven only by the driving data lines, so that the number of signal lines can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

In this case, the transmitting side is provided with a means for transmitting a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with the clock signal for data latch, followed by m-bit serial data for driving, and the receiving side is provided with the means for transmitting. By providing means for generating a first clock signal having the same frequency as the transfer cycle of transmission data, and means for generating a second clock signal for data reception based on the reception of the reference pulse, Requires a data line and a signal line for latching in synchronization with the data line. However, data transfer can be performed using only the data line, and the number of signal lines can be reduced, thereby reducing costs. Can be achieved.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a receiving circuit on the carriage side. In this receiving circuit, an oscillating circuit 51 that outputs a first clock signal having a frequency three times the data transfer rate, and a first oscillating circuit 51 from the oscillating circuit 51 when the output of the logic element 38 becomes “1”. The (m + 1) × 3-bit counter 52 outputs one pulse to the device drive circuit 12 when (m + 1) × 3 bits are counted, and the (m + 1) × 3-bit counter 52 A counter state detection circuit 53 that sets the output to “1” when the output is other than “0”
And

When the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 51 is input and the output of the logic element 38 becomes "1", that is, as described in the above-described embodiment, the data is added to the head of the drive data. The next first time when the received reference pulse is received
The counting of the first clock signal is started with reference to the clock signal, and the second clock signal for data reception is output every time three bits are counted, that is, at 1/3 of the transfer frequency of the transmission data. It includes a bit counter 54 and a logic element 55 that outputs a logical product of the second clock signal from the 3-bit counter 54 and the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 51.

Next, a data transmission operation in the ink jet recording apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows signals of each unit when the recording operation is performed once. First, as in the above-described embodiment, the drive data generation circuit 15 of the printer control circuit 14 drives m (m ≧ n) of n recording devices 11 of the carriage 2 at a predetermined position based on a print image. Generate data. The m outputs from the drive data generation circuit 15 are input to the m latch circuits 21 and latched. At this time, in the case of the second or subsequent recording operation, since the previous drive data is held in the latch circuit 21, the m logic elements 22 store the previous drive data and the new drive data. An exclusive OR is calculated, and m-bit parallel data (drive data) is output to the m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit 23.

The m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit 23 converts m-bit parallel data into serial data and outputs the serial data to the selector 26. When data is transferred from the reference pulse generation circuit 24 to the selector 26, a reference pulse is always input as shown in FIG. Therefore, by controlling the selector 26 by the transmission control circuit 25, the (m + 1) bits to which the reference pulse synchronized with the data reception timing clock (data latch clock signal) is added at the top as shown in FIG. Is supplied to an electro-optical conversion circuit 27. The electro-optical conversion circuit 27 converts the drive data into an optical signal and outputs the optical signal. The receiving circuit 18 on the carriage 2 side via the plastic optical fiber 8
Sent to

The receiving circuit 18 of the carriage 2 converts the driving data of the optical signal transmitted through the optical fiber 8 into an electric signal by the light receiving element 19, amplifies the electric signal by the amplifier 31, and a predetermined digital signal by the comparator 32. Convert to Then, the edge detection circuit 33 detects the rising edge of the received reference pulse and gives a detection signal to the logic element 38, so that the logic element 38 detects the rising edge of the reference pulse as shown in FIG. The signal which becomes "1" is output from the time when it is turned on.

Thus, the (m + 1) × 3-bit counter 52 starts counting the clock from the oscillation circuit 51. Before the (m + 1) × 3-bit counter 52 starts counting, the count value is “0” and the output of the counter state detection circuit 53 is “0”. Since it becomes “1” or more and the output of the counter state detection circuit 53 becomes “1”, the (m + 1) × 3 bit counter 52 detects (m +) after the edge detection circuit 33 detects the edge of the reference pulse.
1) The counting operation of 3 bits is performed at the frequency of the oscillation circuit 51 without any pause.

On the other hand, when the output of the logic element 38 becomes "1" from the 3-bit counter 54, a pulse (second clock signal) is generated every time the first clock signal from the oscillation circuit 51 is counted by 3 bits. And the second clock signal as shown in FIG.
As a shift clock. At this time, the rising and falling of the output of the amplifier 31 is one of the transfer cycle.
Since it is / 3 or less, the second clock signal is input from the 3-bit counter 54 to the m-bit shift register 37 as a shift clock at a clock timing irrespective of data transition.

Therefore, the m-bit shift register 37
Is the second from the 3-bit counter 54 (logic element 45).
(M + 1) bits of the received data are taken in using the clock signal of (1) as the shift clock. Also in this case, since the m-bit shift register 37 can take in only m-bit data, the m-bit shift register 37 finally excludes the reference pulse.
Only the bit drive data will be captured. Then, the m-bit data of the m-bit shift register 37 is supplied to the latch circuit 40 and the logic element 41, and is demodulated from the logic element 41 into the original m drive data as shown in FIG. The drive data is output to the device drive circuit 12. At this time, at the time of the second (k ≧ 2 k-th) or later recording operation, the exclusive OR of the (k−1) -th data held in the latch circuit 40, that is, the immediately preceding data, is obtained.

At this time, a pulse from the (m + 1) × 3 bit counter 52 is given to the device drive circuit 12,
The device drive circuit 12 drives the recording device 11 based on output data of the logic element 41, and performs a recording operation. Also, a pulse from the (m + 1) × 3-bit counter 52 is applied to the latch circuit 40, and the data of the m-bit shift register 37 at that time is latched.

As described above, on the transmitting side, the reference pulse for one clock synchronized with the clock signal for data latch,
And means for transmitting subsequent m-bit serial data for driving, wherein the receiving side includes means for generating a first clock signal having a frequency three times the transfer cycle of the transmission data, Means for generating a second clock signal for data reception on the basis of the next first clock signal at the time of reception, wherein a rise time and a fall time of data of the received signal on the receiving side are respectively set to the first clock By adopting a configuration that is equal to or less than 1/3 of the clock cycle of the signal, the carriage does not take in data near the timing of data transition, so that a noise margin of the data is expanded and more reliable data transmission can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described in the form applied to an ink jet recording apparatus.
The recording device is not limited to this.

[0050]

As described above, according to the recording apparatus of the first aspect, n (n ≧ 2) recording devices are provided, and
In a recording apparatus having a recording head in which each of n recording devices performs a single recording operation based on bit (m ≧ n) data, means for converting data into an optical signal, Since an optical fiber for transmitting data to the recording head is provided, high-speed and reliable data transmission can be performed without being affected by electromagnetic noise.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the first aspect, means for latching m pieces of data and means for exclusive OR are provided on the data transmitting side and the data receiving side. In the k-th (k ≧ 2) operation counted from the print start operation, the exclusive OR of the (k−1) -th m pieces of recording data and the k-th m pieces of data is set between corresponding bits. Since the recording operation is performed by transmitting the output of the exclusive OR, the number of times of data switching is reduced, so that current consumption and noise can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus of the first aspect, the transmitting side is provided with means for converting the m-bit parallel data into serial data, and the receiving side is provided with the received serial data. Means for converting data into parallel data and means for generating one pulse when data of one recording operation are received, and performing parallel-serial conversion of n data of one recording operation Since transmission and serial-to-parallel conversion on the receiving side are performed and the recording operation is performed once by a pulse, the number of signal lines can be reduced and cost can be reduced.

According to the recording apparatus of the fourth aspect, in the recording apparatus of the third aspect, the transmitting side includes: a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with a clock signal for data latch; A means for transmitting m-bit serial data is provided. On the receiving side, means for generating a first clock signal having the same frequency as the transfer cycle of the transmission data, and means for receiving data based on the reception of the reference pulse. Since the configuration includes the means for generating the second clock signal, the number of signal lines can be reduced, and cost can be reduced.

According to the recording apparatus of the fifth aspect, in the recording apparatus of the third aspect, the transmitting side includes: a reference pulse for one clock synchronized with a clock signal for data latch; means for transmitting m-bit serial data; means for generating, on the receiving side, a first clock signal having a frequency three times the transfer cycle of the transmission data;
Means for generating a second clock signal for data reception on the basis of the next first clock signal at the time of receiving the reference pulse, wherein the rising and falling times of the data received on the receiving side are respectively the first and the second. Is less than one-third of the clock cycle of the clock signal, the data noise margin is increased and more reliable data transmission can be performed.

According to the recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the recording apparatus of any one of the first to fifth aspects, the optical fiber is made of a plastic optical fiber, so that the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of a portion related to data transmission in the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a transmission circuit on the printer control circuit side in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a carriage-side receiving circuit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiving circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an overall block diagram of a portion related to data transmission in the recording apparatus.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... carriage, 3 ... recording medium, 4 ... conveyance roller, 6 ...
Substrate, 7: transmitting optical connector, 8: optical fiber, 9: receiving optical connector, 11: recording device, 12: device drive circuit, 14: printer control circuit, 15: drive data generation circuit, 16: transmission circuit, 17 light emitting element, 18 receiving circuit, 19 light receiving element, 21 latch, 22 logical element, 23 m-bit parallel-serial conversion circuit, 24
... Reference pulse generation circuit, 27 ... Electro-optical conversion circuit, 32
... Comparator, 33 ... Edge detection circuit, 34 ... Oscillation circuit, 35 ... (m + 1) bit counter, 36 ... Counter state detection circuit, 37 ... M bit shift register, 38,
39: logic element, 40: latch, 41: logic element.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. It has n (n ≧ 2) recording devices,
means for converting data into an optical signal; and means for converting the data into an optical signal in a recording apparatus having a recording head in which each of the n recording devices performs a single recording operation based on m-bit (m ≧ n) data. An optical fiber for transmitting the obtained data to the recording head side. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein m
Means for latching this data and means for taking the exclusive OR are provided on the data transmitting side and the data receiving side, respectively.
In the k-th (k ≧ 2) operation counted from the printing start operation, the exclusive OR of the (k−1) -th m pieces of recording data and the k-th m pieces of data is calculated for each corresponding bit, A recording apparatus for performing a recording operation by transmitting an output of the exclusive OR. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for converting m-bit parallel data into serial data on the transmitting side, and converting the received serial data into parallel data on the receiving side. Means, and means for generating one pulse when data of one recording operation is received. The data of n one recording operation is converted from parallel to serial and transmitted. To perform serial-to-parallel conversion, and the recording operation is
A recording apparatus characterized in that the recording is performed twice. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting side includes one or more clocks synchronized with a clock signal for data latch.
Means for transmitting a reference pulse for a clock and subsequent m-bit serial data for driving; and a means for generating a first clock signal having the same frequency as the transfer cycle of the transmission data on the receiving side. Means for generating a second clock signal for data reception from the first clock signal with reference to the time of reception of the reference pulse. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting side includes one or more clocks synchronized with a clock signal for data latch.
Means for transmitting a reference pulse for the clock and subsequent m-bit serial data for driving is provided, and the receiving side has a first pulse having a frequency three times the transfer cycle of the transmission data.
And a means for generating a second clock signal for data reception from the first clock signal with reference to a next clock signal at the time of receiving the reference pulse. A rising time and a falling time of the data received in the first clock signal are each 1/3 or less of a clock cycle of the first clock signal. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical fiber is made of a plastic optical fiber.