JP2001058412A - Recording head, substrate for recording head and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize a source voltage to be impressed to recording elements and control an ink discharge energy to be optimum in accordance with a type of ink and recording elements to meet an increase in speed and in number of nozzles. SOLUTION: An ink-jet head has a predetermined voltage generate circuit 11 for supplying a heater impress voltage to each of heating elements 13 of a heater group 12 formed on an element substrate. When the predetermined voltage generate circuit 11 is set to the ink-jet head 1, even if spike-shaped noises overlap with an input voltage which is supplied from the outside to the ink-jet head 1 or even if the input voltage drops, an output voltage of the predetermined voltage generate circuit 1 is maintained to be almost constant. The heater impress voltage less varying with respect to noise inputs and an external voltage drop can be impressed to each heating element 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a recording head for recording a desired image on a recording medium, a recording head substrate, and a recording apparatus. The present invention is a printer, a copying machine, which performs recording on a recording medium such as paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramics.
The present invention is applicable to devices such as a facsimile having a communication system, a word processor having a printer unit, and an industrial recording device combined with various processing devices. Here, “recording” in the present invention means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern. Is what you do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional recording heads include a thermal head which uses an exothermic element to transfer heat to an ink ribbon or thermal paper for recording, and an ink jet head which ejects and records ink by using a piezoelectric element. Hereinafter, an ink-jet head for discharging and recording ink by using a heating element as a recording element will be described as an example.

[0003] By giving energy such as heat to the ink,
An ink jet that causes a state change accompanied by a steep volume change (generation of air bubbles) in the ink, ejects the ink from an ejection port by an acting force based on the state change, and adheres the ink onto a recording medium to form an image. A recording method, a so-called bubble jet (registered trademark) recording method, is conventionally known. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,129 and the like, a recording apparatus using this bubble jet recording method includes a discharge port for discharging ink, and an ink flow path communicating with the discharge port. And a recording element as an energy generating means for discharging the ink arranged in the ink flow path.

According to such a recording method, a high-quality image can be recorded at high speed and with low noise.
In the head that performs this recording method, the ejection openings for ejecting ink can be arranged at a high density, so that a small-sized apparatus can easily obtain a high-resolution recorded image and a color image, which are many excellent features. Have a point. For this reason, the bubble jet recording method has recently been used in many office devices such as printers, copiers and facsimile machines, and has also been used in industrial systems such as textile printing devices.

[0005] A recording element that generates energy for discharging ink can be manufactured by using a semiconductor manufacturing process. For this reason, a conventional head using the bubble jet technique has a structure in which a recording element is formed on an element substrate made of a silicon substrate to form a base, and a groove for forming an ink flow path is formed thereon, such as polysulfone. And a top plate made of resin, glass, or the like.

Further, utilizing the fact that the element substrate is made of a silicon substrate, not only the recording element is formed on the element substrate, but also a driving circuit for driving the recording element, and the recording element is driven in accordance with the temperature of the head. There is also a device in which a temperature sensor used for control and a drive control unit thereof are formed on an element substrate. FIG. 19 shows an example of the configuration of such an element substrate.

In FIG. 19, an element substrate 1001 includes:
A heater group 1002 in which a plurality of heating elements (printing elements) 1005 each composed of a resistor that applies thermal energy for ink ejection are arranged in parallel, and a plurality of transistors 1008 for driving each heating element 1005 are arranged in parallel. Drive circuit 1003 and each transistor 1 of drive circuit 1003
008, and an input terminal 10 for externally inputting image data, various signals, and the like.
07 are formed. Further, a sensor 1006 such as a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the element substrate 1001 or a resistance sensor for measuring the resistance value of each heating element is formed on the element substrate 1001.

The control circuit 1004 includes a shift register (not shown) that outputs image data serially input from the outside to the drive circuit 1003 in parallel, and temporarily stores data output from the shift register, and a transistor 1008.
And a drive control circuit for driving the sensor 1006 and controlling the drive pulse width of the heating element in accordance with the output from the sensor 1006.
The control circuit 1004 includes a circuit that outputs image data corresponding to each heating element 1005 individually,
02 is divided into a plurality of blocks, and image data is output corresponding to each block. As described above, a plurality of shift registers are provided for one head, and the transfer of image data from the ink jet recording apparatus is distributed to the plurality of shift registers and input, thereby easily coping with an increase in printing speed.

As the sensor 1006, a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature near the heating element, a resistance sensor for monitoring the resistance value of the heating element, and the like are used.

When considering the ejection amount of the ejected droplet, the ejection amount is mainly related to the foaming volume of the ink. The foaming volume of the ink changes depending on the temperature of the heating element 1005 and its surroundings. Therefore, the temperature of the heating element 1005 and its surroundings are measured by a temperature sensor, and according to the result, before applying a heat pulse for ink ejection, a pulse (pre-heat pulse) having a small energy enough not to eject ink is applied. By changing the pulse width of the pre-heat pulse and the output timing thereof, the temperature of the heating element 1005 and the surrounding area is adjusted, and the image quality is maintained by discharging constant droplets.

In consideration of the energy required for foaming the ink in the heating element 1005, if the heat radiation condition is constant, the energy is equal to the input energy per unit area required for the heating element 1005 and the heating element. 100
It is expressed by the product of the area of 5. Thereby, the heating element 10
The voltage applied to both ends of the heater element 05, the current flowing through the heating element 1005, and the pulse width may be set to values that can provide the necessary energy. The current flowing through the heating element 1005 is
The resistance value of the heating element 1005 varies from lot to lot or from one element substrate 1001 to another due to a variation in the thickness of the heating element in the manufacturing process of the element substrate 1001.

Therefore, when the applied pulse width is constant and the resistance value of the heating element 1005 is larger than the set value, the value of the flowing current becomes small, and the amount of energy supplied to the heating element 1005 becomes insufficient. The ink cannot be foamed properly. Conversely, the heating element 10
When the resistance value of 05 becomes small, the current value becomes larger than the set value even when the same voltage is applied. In this case, excessive energy is generated by the heating element 1005, which may lead to damage or short life of the heating element 1005. Therefore, the resistance value of the heating element 1005 is constantly monitored by the resistance sensor, and the heat pulse width is changed according to the value so that substantially constant energy is applied to the heating element.

[0013]

In the conventional ink jet head having the above-described element substrate, two types of voltages, a heater application voltage supplied to the heating element and a control circuit voltage for operating the control circuit, are used. Power sources are required, and these voltages are supplied from the inkjet recording apparatus main body.

In order to supply a power supply voltage to the ink jet head mounted on the carriage and moving along the surface of the recording medium during printing, the ink jet head and the main body of the recording apparatus are connected by a relatively long cable such as a flexible substrate. Is done. Due to such a configuration, for example, when many heating elements are driven at the same time, the heater application voltage supplied to the inkjet head may drop.

Therefore, in the conventional ink jet head, the voltage applied to the heating element is set higher than the voltage required for ejection (hereinafter, referred to as ejection voltage) in consideration of the voltage drop. There is a possibility that the durability of the resin may decrease.

Further, since noise is liable to be superimposed on a signal or voltage transmitted by a cable such as a flexible board, there is a possibility that a spike-like noise may damage the heating element. Was likely to decrease.

In recent ink jet recording apparatuses, demands for higher quality image output in accordance with the respective fields of various products have increased, and demands for improving the recording speed have also increased. The number of nozzles (ink flow paths) is increasing and the recording cycle is being shortened. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the width of the driving pulse applied to the heating element and increase the number of recording elements to be driven simultaneously.

However, in the conventional ink jet head, since the voltage applied to the heating element is a fixed voltage, when controlling the ink ejection energy in accordance with the type of ink and the size of the heating element, a heat pulse is required. The only control was by changing the width. In such a configuration, since the pulse width cannot be reduced, the speed will be further increased in the future (for example, when the ejection frequency is 10 k).
Hz or more, and more preferably 20 kHz or more), and it is difficult to cope with multi-nozzle operation.

Therefore, the present invention stabilizes the power supply voltage applied to the recording element, and can optimally control the ink ejection energy according to the type of ink and the recording element in response to the increase in speed and the number of nozzles. It is an object to provide a recording head, a recording head base, and a recording apparatus.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording head according to the present invention comprises a plurality of recording elements for performing recording, a driving circuit for driving each of the plurality of recording elements, and an external circuit. And a predetermined voltage generation circuit for generating a predetermined voltage applied to the plurality of printing elements from a voltage supplied from the storage device.

The recording head substrate according to the present invention includes a substrate, a plurality of recording elements provided on the substrate for performing recording, and a plurality of recording elements provided on the substrate for driving the plurality of recording elements, respectively. And a drive circuit provided on the substrate,
And a predetermined voltage generation circuit for generating a predetermined voltage applied to the plurality of printing elements from a voltage supplied from the outside.

Further, the recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a plurality of recording elements for performing recording, a driving circuit for driving each of the plurality of recording elements, and a voltage supplied from the outside. A printhead having a predetermined voltage generation circuit for generating a predetermined voltage applied to the element, a carriage for mounting and moving the printhead, and means for generating a voltage supplied from the outside; The present invention provides a recording apparatus characterized by comprising:

According to the present invention, a predetermined voltage for performing recording within the head is generated by the predetermined voltage generating circuit, so that a voltage drop caused by supplying a voltage from the outside via a cable is prevented and noise is reduced. Damage to the heating element and reduction in durability are prevented. In particular, by outputting the printing element application voltage from the predetermined voltage generation circuit, it is possible to set the applied voltage to the printing element to an optimum value according to the ejection voltage, so that the ink is efficiently and stably ejected. be able to.

Further, by generating a plurality of desired voltages from a predetermined voltage generating circuit and supplying the voltages to each group of printing elements, the voltage for applying the printing elements can be optimized according to the type of ink and the printing elements. Speed,
Even with a multi-nozzle head, it is possible to easily control the ink ejection energy.

Further, by supplying the recording element application voltage applied to the recording element and the control circuit voltage applied to the control circuit from the predetermined voltage generation circuit, the power supply voltage supplied to the head can be one type. As a result, the load on the main unit is reduced. At this time, the control circuit voltage is raised and then the recording element application voltage is raised, the recording element application voltage is dropped and then the control circuit voltage is lowered,
Alternatively, by performing control for applying the recording element application voltage to the recording element only at the time of printing, malfunction of the recording element is prevented, and the reliability of the head is improved.

Further, by providing the predetermined voltage generating circuit on the same substrate as the substrate on which a plurality of recording elements are formed, the number of components is reduced, thereby facilitating assembly.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an ink jet head of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of a predetermined voltage generating circuit shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the ink jet head 1 according to the present embodiment generates a predetermined voltage for supplying a heater application voltage to each heating element 13 of a heater group 12 formed on an element substrate. The configuration includes a circuit (voltage conversion circuit) 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 11 divides and detects the transistor Tr1 inserted between the input terminal 21 and the output terminal 22 and the output voltage VO output from the output terminal 22. Resistors R1, R2
, A resistor R3 inserted between the base and the collector of the transistor Tr1, a reference voltage source 23 for outputting a predetermined reference voltage Vref, and a detection voltage Vs and a reference voltage Vref detected by the resistors R1 and R2. And a differential amplifier circuit 24 that controls the transistor Tr1 so that the detection voltage Vs and the reference voltage Vref become equal. Further, a capacitor 25 may be inserted between the output terminal 22 and the ground potential in order to improve stability against a load change.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 2, the differential amplifier 24 controls the base current of the transistor Tr1 so that the detection voltage Vs becomes equal to the reference voltage Vref. VO is controlled to be constant. Note that by making the reference voltage Vref output from the reference voltage source 23 changeable, the output voltage VO
Can be easily adjusted to a desired voltage.

By providing such a predetermined voltage generating circuit 11 in the ink jet head 1, as shown in FIG. 1B, spike noise is superimposed on an external input voltage VA supplied to the ink jet head 1. Even if the input voltage VA drops, the output voltage VB of the predetermined voltage generating circuit 11 is maintained substantially constant. It can be applied to the heating element 13.

Therefore, damage to the heating elements 13 and reduction in durability due to spike noise are prevented, and a stable voltage is applied to each heating element 13 even when the power supply voltage supplied from the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus drops. To be
The life of the heating element 13 is prevented from being shortened. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ink jet head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the ink jet head 3 of the present embodiment, a plurality of heating elements 33 are formed by a plurality of heater groups 32 (in FIG. 3, two cases of 321 and 322 are illustrated).
And each heating element 33 is driven for each heater group 32.

The predetermined voltage generating circuit 31 included in the ink jet head 3 according to the present embodiment has, for example, a configuration including a plurality of circuits shown in FIG. 2, and individually supplies a heater application voltage to each heater group 32. I do.

With this configuration, the heater application voltage can be set to a desired value for each heater group 32. For example, the driving conditions for the color ink and the black ink in one ink jet head can be set. Even if the different heating elements are provided integrally, the heating element 33 can be driven with an optimum voltage according to the type of ink or the size of the heating element. Therefore, it is possible to easily control the ink ejection energy even with an ink jet head having a high speed and a large number of nozzles. (Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ink jet head according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows an example of a configuration of the predetermined voltage generating circuit shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram. FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing a rising waveform and a falling waveform of the output voltage of the predetermined voltage generating circuit shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ink jet head 4 of this embodiment has a heater application voltage (10 V to 40 V).
V) and a control circuit voltage (3.3 V or 5 V) for operating the control circuit 45 are supplied to the predetermined voltage generation circuit 4.
This is a configuration in which each is supplied from one.

As in the present embodiment, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 41
When the heater application voltage and the control circuit voltage are respectively supplied from the printer, only one type of voltage is required to be supplied from the outside to the inkjet head, so that the load on the inkjet recording apparatus main body can be reduced. In particular, if only one kind of power supply voltage is used, the inkjet head can be driven by a battery.

As shown in FIG. 5, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 41 of the present embodiment has a rectifier circuit 54 for rectifying an input voltage VI input via an input terminal 51 and an output voltage of the rectifier circuit 54 as an input. A first regulator circuit 55 for outputting a desired voltage VO1 from an output terminal 52, and a rectifier circuit 5
4, a second regulator circuit 56 that receives a desired voltage VO2 from an output terminal 53,
ON / OF of the input voltage to the regulator circuit 55
F, a transistor Tr12 for turning on / off the input voltage to the second regulator circuit 56, and a second transistor 5
6, a resistor R11 and a transistor Tr13 for discharging the output voltage of the transistor 6, and transistors Tr11 and Tr1.
2, a configuration including a timer 57 for controlling ON / OFF of Tr13 at a predetermined timing.

The first regulator circuit 55 and the second regulator circuit 56 are constituted by, for example, circuits similar to the circuit shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 5 assumes that an AC voltage is supplied from the main body of the recording apparatus, and
Is not necessary when a DC voltage is supplied from the recording apparatus main body.

The circuit shown in FIG.
When turning on the transistor Tr12 and the transistor Tr12, the timer 57 turns on the transistor Tr11 first, and then turns on the transistor Tr12. Further, the transistors Tr11 and Tr12 are turned off.
At the time of F, the transistor Tr12 is turned off, the transistor Tr13 is turned on, and the transistor Tr11 is turned off after the time when the output voltage of the second regulator circuit 56 is sufficiently discharged to become 0V.

Here, assuming that the voltage VO1 output from the output terminal 52 is a control circuit voltage and the voltage VO2 output from the output terminal 53 is a heater application voltage, FIG.
As shown in (a), after the control circuit voltage is supplied, the heater application voltage is supplied, and the heater application voltage is turned off.
After F, the control circuit voltage is turned off.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the heater application voltage is applied only when the heating element 43 is driven by the heater driving signal by the timer 57, that is, only when the ink is ejected and printing is performed. Can also be supplied.

As described above, by controlling the application timing so that the heater application voltage is turned ON / OFF while the control circuit voltage is always ON, malfunction of the heating element 43 can be prevented. The heating element 43 is prevented from being damaged due to a malfunction. In addition, the reliability of the ink jet head can be improved by supplying the heater application voltage to the heating element 43 only during printing to protect the heating element 43.

In the same manner as in the second embodiment, even when the heating element is divided into a plurality of heater groups, a circuit similar to the second regulator circuit 56 shown in FIG. A plurality of transistors Tr1
By controlling with the timer 57 in the same manner as in 2 and Tr13, it becomes possible to supply a desired power supply voltage to each heater group. In this case, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained. (Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the ink jet head of the present invention, and FIG. 8 shows an example of a configuration of the predetermined voltage generating circuit shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram. FIGS. 9 to 13 are timing charts showing the states of the heater application voltage output from the predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7 and the heater drive voltage applied to the heating element.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ink-jet head 7 of this embodiment has an output voltage V
The configuration is such that a heater voltage control signal VC for changing B is supplied from outside the ink jet head 7. The output voltage VB of the predetermined voltage generation circuit 71 is supplied to the heater group 72 as a heater application voltage, and the heater drive voltage applied to each heating element 73 can be changed from outside by the heater voltage control signal VC.

As shown in FIG. 8, the predetermined voltage generation circuit 71 of the present embodiment divides a transistor Tr21 inserted between an input terminal 81 and an output terminal 82 and an output voltage VO output from an output terminal 82. Resistors R21 and R22 for detecting the voltage and the base of the transistor Tr21.
A resistor R23 inserted between the collectors; a reference voltage source 83 for outputting a predetermined reference voltage Vref;
1, the detection voltage Vs and the reference voltage Vref detected by R22 are input, and the detection voltage Vs and the reference voltage Vr are input.
A differential amplifier circuit 84 that controls the transistor TR21 so that ef becomes equal, and a heater voltage control signal VC input from a control terminal 85 is input to a base via a resistor R24, and a collector is connected to an output terminal 82. , A transistor Tr22 having an emitter connected to an input terminal to which a detection voltage Vs of a differential amplifier is input via a resistor R25.
This is a configuration including:

In the configuration of the predetermined voltage generation circuit 81 shown in FIG. 8, the detection voltage Vs and the reference voltage Vref are made equal by the differential amplifier 84, similarly to the predetermined voltage generation circuit of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Transistor Tr21
Is controlled, and the output voltage VO is controlled to be constant with respect to the fluctuation of the input voltage VI from the outside.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 8, when the heater voltage control signal VC is at "L" level, the transistor T
Since r22 does not conduct, predetermined voltage generation circuit 71 outputs predetermined output voltage VO as it is. On the other hand, when the heater voltage control signal is at “H” level, the transistor T
Since r22 conducts, the resistance becomes equal to the configuration in which the resistor R25 connected to the emitter of the transistor Tr22 is connected in parallel to the voltage dividing resistor R21. Therefore, the resistor R
21 and R22, the detection voltage Vs increases, and the voltage output from the output terminal 82 is controlled by the voltage VO 'lower than the output voltage VO.

By having such a predetermined voltage generating circuit 71, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 71 of the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. It can be changed by the resistance value of the heater. For example, when the resistance value of the heater varies due to manufacturing reasons or the like, if the resistance value is as small as 170 Ω to 200 Ω, the heater drive voltage = VO ′ and 201 Ω to 230
When it is as large as Ω, the heater driving voltage is changed to VO. Thus, the drive voltage can be adjusted for each resistance value of the heater, the pulse width can be shortened as a whole, and the speed can be increased.

Further, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 71 of the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 10, the heater driving voltage applied to the heating element 73 can be changed by the number of heaters driven simultaneously. For example, when the number of simultaneous driving of the heater is 16 at the maximum, the heater driving voltage = VO ′ when the number of simultaneous driving is 1 to 8 and the heater driving voltage = VO when the number of simultaneous driving is 9 to 16. Change. As a result, the voltage drop between the heaters from the predetermined voltage generation circuit 71 can be compensated, and stable ejection can be performed regardless of the number of simultaneous driving of the heaters.

The predetermined voltage generating circuit 71 of the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 11, the heater drive voltage applied to the heating element 73 can be changed according to the frequency of the heater to be driven. For example, if the discharge frequency of the heater is
When the frequency is 0 kHz, the heater driving voltage is changed to VO ', and when the ejection frequency is 20 kHz or more, the heater driving voltage is changed to VO. This makes it possible to perform optimal driving for each printing mode, and to achieve stable ejection.

Further, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 7 of the present embodiment
1, a heater drive voltage applied to the heating element 73 is set to a preheat pulse (heater drive voltage =
VO ′) and the main pulse (heater drive voltage = VO). In the preheat pulse, heating is performed at a low voltage so as not to cause foaming and for several μs so that heat is transmitted to the ink. In the main pulse, heating is performed with a short pulse of 1 μs or less at a high voltage to stably foam. Thus, an optimal heat drive voltage can be supplied to the heating element 73. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently and stably eject ink. Further, with such a configuration, the pulse width can be reduced to 2 μs or less, and the ejection frequency can be set to 15 kHz, and further, to 20 kHz.
High-speed driving of z or more becomes possible.

Similar driving is possible even when a preheat pulse and a main pulse as shown in FIG. 13 are applied.

It should be noted that the heater voltage control signal VC does not necessarily need to be supplied from outside the ink jet head 7, but may be supplied from the control circuit 75, for example.

When the heating element is divided into a plurality of heater groups as in the second embodiment, the predetermined voltage generating circuit 71 is provided with a plurality of circuits as shown in FIG. A desired power supply voltage can be supplied to each of the heater groups. In this case, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the location of the predetermined voltage generating circuit is not particularly described, but the predetermined voltage generating circuit is provided on the element substrate on which the heating element is formed. It is desirable to be formed. In this case, the number of terminals and the like for connecting the element substrate on which the heating element is formed and another substrate having the predetermined voltage generating circuit can be reduced, so that the number of components is reduced and assembly is facilitated.

The predetermined voltage generating circuit may be formed on a substrate of a head different from the element substrate on which the heating elements are formed. Even in such a case, a desired voltage can be supplied to the heater group and the control circuit without practical problems.

FIG. 14 is a cutaway perspective view showing a main part of an ink jet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top plate 1100 constituting the ink jet recording head H is formed of a resin material, and communicates with a liquid chamber 1104 for storing a recording liquid, a top plate member forming a plurality of liquid channels 1103, and a plurality of liquid channels 1103, respectively. A discharge port forming member 1101 for forming a plurality of discharge ports (orifices) 1102 and a recording liquid supply port 1105 are integrally formed. The heater board (element substrate) 1107 includes a plurality of heaters (electrothermal transducers) 1106 which are arranged on a silicon substrate and generate heat energy used for ejecting ink to generate film boiling in the ink. An electric wiring (not shown) such as aluminum for supplying electric power thereto is formed by a known film forming technique, and is positioned and fixed on the base plate 1110 by a known die bonding technique. The wiring board 1108 has wiring connected by known wire bonding corresponding to the wiring of the heater board 1107, and a plurality of pads 1109 located at the end of the wiring and receiving an electric signal from the apparatus main body. ing. The top plate 1100 and the heater board 1107 are connected to the liquid flow path 1
The ink jet recording head H is formed by being joined together in a state where it is positioned so as to correspond to each of the heater 103 and the heater 1106, and fixed together with a wiring board 1108 on a base plate 1110.

An ink jet head cartridge equipped with the ink jet head according to the above embodiment will be schematically described. FIG. 15 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an ink-jet head cartridge including the above-described ink-jet head. The ink-jet head cartridge mainly includes an ink discharge head unit 200 and an ink container 140.

The ink discharge head unit 200 is provided on the element substrate 1
51, a top plate 153 having an open discharge port, and a holding spring 12
8, an ink supply member 130, an aluminum base plate (support) 120, and the like. The element substrate 151 includes
As mentioned above, the heating resistor for applying heat to the ink
A plurality of them are provided in a row. By joining the element substrate 151 and the top plate 153, a liquid flow path (not shown) through which the ejected ink flows is formed. Holding spring 128
Is a member for applying an urging force to the top plate 153 in the direction of the element substrate 151, and the element substrate 151,
The top plate 153 and the support 120 described later are satisfactorily integrated. When the top plate and the element substrate are joined with, for example, an adhesive, the pressing spring may not be provided. The support 120 is for supporting the element substrate 151 and the like.
3 and a contact pad 124 for exchanging electrical signals with the device by connecting to the device.

The ink container 140 contains ink to be supplied to the ink ejection head unit 200. Outside the ink container 140, a positioning portion 144 for arranging a connecting member for connecting the ink ejection head unit 200 and the ink container 140, and a fixed shaft 1 for fixing the connecting member.
45 are provided. Supply of ink is performed by the ink container 1
Forty ink supply paths 142, 143 are supplied to the ink supply members 131, 132 of the ink supply member 130 via connecting members, and the liquid supply paths 133, 129, 153c of the respective members are provided.
And supplied to the common liquid chamber. Here, the ink container 1
Although the supply of the ink from 40 to the ink supply member 130 is performed in two paths, the supply is not necessarily performed.

The ink container 140 may be refilled with ink after the ink is consumed. For this purpose, it is desirable to provide an ink inlet in the ink container 140. In addition, the ink ejection head unit 200 and the ink container 140 may be integrated or may be separable.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the above-described ink jet head. Inkjet recording device carriage (scanning device)
The HC has a head cartridge on which an ink container 140 containing ink and an ink ejection head unit 200 are detachably mounted, and is mounted in a width direction of a recording medium 170 such as recording paper conveyed by a recording medium conveying means. It reciprocates in the directions of arrows a and b). Note that the ink container and the ink discharge head are configured to be separable from each other.

In FIG. 16, when a drive signal is supplied from a drive signal supply unit (not shown) to the ink discharge unit on the carriage HC, the ink discharge head unit 200 sends the recording ink to the recording medium 170 in response to this signal. Is discharged.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment, a motor 161 as a drive source for driving the recording medium conveying means and the carriage HC, and gears 162, 16 for transmitting power from the drive source to the carriage HC.
3, and a carriage shaft 164 and the like. With this recording apparatus, a recorded matter of a good image could be obtained by ejecting ink to various recording media.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an entire apparatus for operating an ink jet recording apparatus to which the ink jet head of the present invention is applied.

The recording device receives print information from the host computer 300 as a control signal. The print information is temporarily stored in the input / output interface 301 inside the printing apparatus, and at the same time, is converted into data that can be processed in the printing apparatus, and is input to the CPU 302 also serving as a head drive signal supply unit. The CPU 302 processes data input to the CPU 302 using a peripheral unit such as the RAM 304 based on a control program stored in the ROM 303, and converts the data into print data (image data).

The CPU 302 generates drive data for driving the drive motor 306 for moving the recording paper and the head 200 in synchronization with the image data in order to record the image data at an appropriate position on the recording paper. . The image data and the motor drive data are stored in the head driver 3 respectively.
07, and transmitted to the head 200 and the drive motor 306 via the motor driver 305, and are driven at controlled timings to form images.

The recording medium which can be applied to the above-described recording apparatus and to which a liquid such as ink is applied includes plastics, cloth, aluminum, etc. used for various papers, OHP sheets, compact discs, decorative plates, etc. Metal materials such as copper and copper, leather materials such as cow skin, pig skin and artificial leather, wood such as wood and plywood, ceramic materials such as bamboo materials and tiles, and three-dimensional structures such as sponges can be targeted.

As the recording device, various kinds of paper and O
A printer device for recording on an HP sheet or the like, a recording device for a plastic for recording on a plastic material such as a compact disc, a recording device for a metal for recording on a metal plate,
A recording device for leather that records on leather, a recording device for wood that records on wood, a recording device for ceramic that records on ceramic materials, a recording device that records on a three-dimensional network structure such as a sponge, It also includes a textile printing device for recording on a fabric.

Further, as a discharge liquid used in these ink jet recording apparatuses, an ink suitable for each recording medium and recording conditions may be used.

Next, recording is performed on a recording medium using the ink jet head of the present invention as a recording head.
An example of the inkjet recording system will be described.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus using the above-described ink jet head of the present invention. The inkjet head according to the present embodiment is a full-line type head having a plurality of ejection ports arranged at intervals of 360 dpi in a length corresponding to a recordable width of a recording medium, and includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), Four heads 201a to 201d corresponding to four colors of cyan (C) and black (Bk) are fixedly supported by a holder 202 in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the X direction.

A signal is supplied to each of the heads 201a to 201d from a head driver 307 constituting driving signal supply means, and the heads 201a to 201d are driven based on the signals. Each head 20
In 1a to 201d, inks of four colors of Y, M, C, and Bk are used as ejection liquids, respectively.
Supplied from

Below the heads 201a to 201d, there are provided head caps 203a to 203d in which an ink absorbing member such as sponge is disposed, and covers the head 201a to 201d NO discharge port when not recording. Thus, maintenance of the heads 201a to 201d can be performed.

Reference numeral 206 denotes a transport belt which constitutes transport means for transporting various recording media as described in the above example. The transport belt 206 is routed around a predetermined path by various rollers, and the motor driver 30
5 is driven by a driving roller connected to the driving roller 5.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, a pre-processing device 251 and a post-processing device 252 for performing various processes on the recording medium before and after recording are provided upstream and downstream of the recording medium transport path, respectively. .

The contents of the pre-processing and post-processing differ depending on the type of recording medium on which recording is performed and the type of ink. For example, for recording media such as metal, plastic, and ceramics, As a pretreatment, irradiation of ultraviolet rays and ozone is performed to activate the surface, thereby improving the adhesion of the ink. Further, in a recording medium such as plastic which easily generates static electricity, dust easily adheres to the surface due to the static electricity, and good recording may be hindered by the dust. For this reason, it is preferable to remove dust from the recording medium by removing static electricity from the recording medium using an ionizer device as preprocessing.
Further, when a cloth is used as the recording medium, an alkaline substance,
A treatment for providing a substance selected from a water-soluble substance, a synthetic polymer, a water-soluble metal salt, urea, and thiourea may be performed as pretreatment. The preprocessing is not limited to this, and may be a process of setting the temperature of the recording medium to a temperature suitable for recording.

On the other hand, the post-processing includes a fixing process for promoting the fixing of the ink to the recording medium to which the ink has been applied by heat treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, or the like; And the like.

In this example, the heads 201a to 201a
Although a full-line head has been described as d, the present invention is not limited to this, and a small-sized head as described above may be conveyed in the width direction of the recording medium to perform recording.

In the present embodiment, an ink jet head using a heating element formed of a resistor as a recording element for applying energy for discharging ink has been described as an example.
The present invention can be applied to an ink jet head using a piezoelectric element for discharging ink by a piezo effect as a recording element or a thermal head using a heating element.

[0082]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

The predetermined voltage generating circuit generates a desired voltage for recording inside the head, so that a voltage drop due to externally supplying a voltage via a cable is prevented, and the heating element is damaged by noise. And a decrease in durability is prevented. In particular, by outputting the printing element application voltage from the predetermined voltage generation circuit, it is possible to set the applied voltage to the printing element to an optimum value according to the ejection voltage, so that the ink is efficiently and stably ejected. be able to.

Further, by generating a plurality of desired voltages from the predetermined voltage generating circuit and supplying the voltages to each group of the printing elements, the printing element application voltage can be optimized according to the type of ink and the printing elements. Speed,
Even with a multi-nozzle head, it is possible to easily control the ink ejection energy.

Further, by supplying the recording element application voltage applied to the recording element from the predetermined voltage generation circuit and the control circuit voltage applied to the control circuit, the power supply voltage supplied to the head is one type. As a result, the load on the main unit is reduced. At this time, the voltage for the recording element is raised after the voltage for the control circuit is raised, the voltage for the control element is lowered after the voltage for the recording element is lowered, or the voltage for the recording element is recorded only during printing. By performing control applied to the element, malfunction of the recording element is prevented,
The reliability of the head is improved.

Further, by providing the predetermined voltage generating circuit on the same substrate as the substrate on which a plurality of recording elements are formed, the number of components is reduced, and the assembly is facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first embodiment of an inkjet head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the ink jet head of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 4;

6 is a timing chart showing a rising waveform and a falling waveform of an output voltage of the predetermined voltage generating circuit shown in FIG. 4, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the ink jet head of the present invention.

8 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7;

9 is a timing chart showing a state of a heater application voltage and a heater drive voltage applied to a heating element when a resistance value of a heater is output from the predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7; is there.

10 is a timing chart showing a state of a heater application voltage and a heater drive voltage applied to a heating element when the number of simultaneously driven heaters output from the predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7 is different. is there.

11 is a timing chart showing a state of a heater application voltage and a heater drive voltage applied to a heating element when a frequency for driving a heater is different, which is output from a predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7; .

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of a heater application voltage and a heater drive voltage applied to a heating element when a voltage applied by a pre-heat pulse and a main pulse output from the predetermined voltage generation circuit shown in FIG. 7 is changed. It is a timing chart shown.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing a modification of the timing chart shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a cutaway perspective view showing a main part of the inkjet recording head according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head cartridge to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 17 is an apparatus block diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a liquid ejection system to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of an element substrate of a conventional head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 3, 4, 7 inkjet head 11,31,41,71 predetermined voltage generating circuit 12, 32 _1, 32 _2, 72 heater group 13,33,73 heating elements 21,51,81 input terminals 22,52,82 Output terminals 23, 83 Reference voltage sources 24, 84 Differential amplifier circuit 25 Capacitors 45, 75 Control circuit 54 Rectifier circuit 55 First regulator circuit 56 Second regulator circuit 57 Timer 85 Control terminals R1-R3, R11, R21- R26 resistor Tr1, Tr11-Tr13, Tr21, Tr22
Transistor

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Imanaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Ichiro Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoichi Taniya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Noriyuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (20)

[Claims] A plurality of printing elements for performing printing; a driving circuit for driving each of the plurality of printing elements; and a predetermined voltage applied to the plurality of printing elements from a voltage supplied from outside. And a predetermined voltage generating circuit for generating a voltage. 2. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined voltage generating circuit generates a plurality of different predetermined voltages. 3. The recording head according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of printing elements are divided into a plurality of groups, and the predetermined voltage generating circuit individually applies the plurality of different predetermined voltages to each of the groups. 4. The plurality of different predetermined voltages include an element voltage applied to the plurality of recording elements and a circuit voltage supplied to a control circuit for controlling the drive circuit. The recording head according to the above. 5. The recording head according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined voltage generating circuit raises said element voltage after raising said circuit voltage. 6. The recording head according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined voltage generation circuit drops the voltage for the element and then drops the voltage for the circuit. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined voltage generation circuit only performs at the time of recording.
5. The recording head according to claim 4, wherein the element voltage is applied to the plurality of recording elements. 8. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined voltage generating circuit is capable of changing a value of said predetermined voltage by a predetermined control signal. 9. The recording head according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of different predetermined voltages are selected according to resistance values of the plurality of recording elements. 10. The plurality of different predetermined voltages are selected according to the number of simultaneous driving of the plurality of printing elements.
The recording head according to the above. 11. The plurality of different predetermined voltages are selected according to a driving frequency of the plurality of printing elements.
Described recording head 12. The plurality of different predetermined voltages,
3. The recording head according to claim 2, wherein a voltage for a pre-heat pulse and a voltage for a main heat pulse are differently applied to the plurality of recording elements. 13. The recording head according to claim 12, wherein the main heat pulse voltage is higher than the preheat pulse voltage. 14. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined voltage generating circuit is provided on the same substrate as the substrate on which the plurality of recording elements are provided. 15. The printhead according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of print elements generate energy for selectively discharging ink in a plurality of ink flow paths that communicate with a plurality of discharge ports that discharge ink. . 16. The recording head according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of recording elements are heating elements. 17. The recording head according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of recording elements are piezoelectric elements. 18. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is a thermal head. 19. A substrate, a plurality of recording elements provided on the substrate for performing recording, a driving circuit provided on the substrate for driving each of the plurality of recording elements, and a driving circuit provided on the substrate And a predetermined voltage generating circuit for generating a predetermined voltage applied to the plurality of printing elements from a voltage supplied from the outside. 20. A plurality of printing elements for performing printing,
A drive circuit for driving each of the plurality of print elements, and a printhead having a predetermined voltage generation circuit that generates a predetermined voltage applied to the plurality of print elements from a voltage supplied from the outside; A recording apparatus comprising: a carriage for mounting and moving the recording head; and means for generating the voltage supplied from the outside.