JP2001347663A - Ink jet recording head and ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording head in which refill frequency can be maximized while sustaining the linearity of image even in case of time sharing drive and throughput of a printer can be enhanced. SOLUTION: In an ink jet recording head having a plurality of ink ejection openings 3 and heaters 2 disposed oppositely thereto in order to generate thermal energy being used for ejecting ink wherein they are sectioned into a plurality of blocks being driven sequentially in the same drive period while sharing the time, the plurality of heaters 2 are arranged substantially linearly and the ink ejection openings 3 are arranged in such a projection relationship as corresponding to the time sharing driving order while being shifted from the heaters 2. Alternatively, the plurality of ink ejection openings 3 are arranged substantially linearly and the heaters 2 are arranged in such a projection relationship as corresponding to the time sharing driving order while being shifted from the ink ejection openings 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus which perform recording on a recording material by discharging ink as droplets. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable not only to general printing apparatuses, but also to apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile machines having a communication system, word processors having a printing section, and industrial recording apparatuses combined with various processing apparatuses. Can be.

[0002] In this specification, the term "print" (sometimes referred to as "recording") refers not only to the formation of significant information such as characters and figures, but also to the perception of humans irrespective of significance. Regardless of whether or not the image has been exposed so as to make it possible, this also refers to a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is widely formed on a print medium or a medium is processed. Here, the term “print medium” refers not only to paper used in general printing apparatuses but also to cloth, plastic films, metal plates, glass, ceramics,
Wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink are also referred to. In addition, "ink" (sometimes called "liquid")
Is to be interpreted broadly as in the definition of "print" above, and by being given on print media,
It refers to a liquid that can be used for forming an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like, processing a print medium, or processing ink (for example, solidifying or insolubilizing a colorant in ink applied to a print medium).

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, the performance of ink jet printers has been remarkably improved. Recently, a printing speed as high as a laser beam printer has been realized. In addition, the demand for high-speed color images has been increasing with the increase in the processing speed of personal computers and the spread of the Internet and the like.

In a bubble jet (registered trademark) recording method, which is one of the ink jet recording methods, the ink is rapidly heated and vaporized by a heating element, and the ink is ejected as droplets by using the pressure of the generated bubbles. Orifice). The bubbles generated in the bubble jet recording head are cooled by the surrounding ink, and the vapor of the ink in the bubbles is condensed and returned to the liquid, and finally disappears. The ink consumed by the ejection is refilled from the ink supply port through the ink supply path. There is also a recording method in which ink is rapidly heated and vaporized by a heating element, and the generated air bubbles are communicated with the outside air to perform discharge.

[0005] A bubble jet recording head according to the background art will be described. FIG. 6 shows a first example of a nozzle (ink flow path to discharge port) of a bubble jet recording head according to the background art.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the structure, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic diagram showing ink droplet traces recorded by the nozzle structure of the first example.

If an ink jet head in which ink discharge ports 3 and heaters (not shown) inside the ink discharge ports 3 are arranged in a line as shown in FIG. 6 is used, the length of the ink flow path 6 in each segment is the same. Therefore, no ink refill difference occurs. However, if the time-division driving is performed, as shown in FIG. 7, the landing positions of the ink droplets are shifted according to the driving order, which causes a problem on the image. FIG.
Indicates a case where straight image data is hit in an even-numbered segment, and indicates that the straight line becomes a zigzag line separated by a maximum of 42.3 μm.

Further, if time-division driving is not performed, there is a problem that the current value instantaneously flowing through the heater and the electrodes increases, causing a voltage drop, and the printing becomes blurred when printing an image with a high duty. Was.

Next, another background art of the bubble jet recording head will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a nozzle structure which is a second example of the bubble jet recording head according to the background art.

[0009] The nozzle density in the figure is 600 dpi.
The positions of the heating elements (not shown) and the ink discharge ports 3 in the nozzles are different on the segment 0 side (even number segment) and the segment 1 side (odd number segment). That is,
In the even-numbered segment side, the ink flow paths 6 are numbered 2, 4,
6, 8, and 0, and the odd-numbered segment side is shortened in the order of numbers 3, 5, 7, 9, 1 so that the first segment
It solves the above-mentioned problem of the example. At the center is an ink supply path 1 from which ink is supplied to each nozzle of segment 0 to segment 255 via ink flow paths 6 of different length.

Since the number of nozzles is as large as 256 nozzles, the following time-division driving is performed to suppress the instantaneous current value. Segment 0, 32, 6 for even segment
. 224 are the first block, and eight nozzles of the segments 10, 42, 74,... 234 are the second block, and segments 17, 49, 81, and 113 are the odd-numbered segments. , 241, the first block, segments 27, 59, 91,.
.., 251 are used as the second block. Here, both the odd-numbered and even-numbered segments are divided into 16 blocks each having 8 nozzles as one block unit. The knitting of the third block to the sixteenth block is the same as that described later, and is omitted here.

Now, from segment 0 to segment 3 shown in FIG.
When the image data up to 1 flows ON, the drive pulse is applied to the heating elements from segment 0 to segment 31 in the order of block numbers 1 to 16. At this time, the interval between drive pulses applied to each block is 5.9 μs.
, And are driven every 16 nozzles on one side. In the even-numbered segment, a segment having a long distance (hereinafter referred to as a C-H distance) between the heating element and the ink supply port (branch position 5 from the ink supply path) is driven first. In the odd-numbered segment, the segment with the short CH distance is driven first.

[0012]

When a drive pulse is applied to a heating element, ink droplets are ejected from ejection ports. The consumed ink is refilled from the ink supply port through the ink supply path 1. However, a segment having a long C-H distance has a longer refill time due to a longer distance than a short segment. In order to obtain good printing quality, the response frequency must be set to a long C-H distance, and the throughput of the printer cannot be increased.
There was a problem.

On the other hand, if the ink supply ports are arranged in a zigzag manner, the distance between C and H can be kept constant for all nozzles. However, the width of the supply ports in the zigzag arrangement becomes narrow, so that the refill time also becomes slow. Problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head capable of maximizing the refill frequency while maintaining the linearity of an image even when time-division driving is performed, thereby improving the throughput of a printer. And an ink jet recording apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus for deflecting and ejecting ink droplets instead of lengthening or shortening an ink flow path in order to maintain linearity of an image. That is.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ink discharge port, and an energy generator provided facing the ink discharge port and generating energy used for discharging ink from the ink discharge port. An ink jet recording head that divides the plurality of ink discharge ports and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the order of the blocks within the same drive cycle, wherein the plurality of energy generators Are arranged substantially on a straight line,
An ink jet recording head, wherein each of the ink ejection ports is arranged in a projection relationship with respect to the energy generator in a time-division driving order, and an ink jet recording apparatus including the same. Is what you do.

Further, the present invention has a plurality of ink discharge ports, and a plurality of energy generators provided facing the ink discharge ports and generating energy used for discharging ink from the ink discharge ports, An ink jet recording head that divides the plurality of ink ejection ports and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the order of the blocks within the same driving cycle, wherein the plurality of ink ejection ports are substantially on a straight line. An ink jet recording head, wherein the energy generators are arranged in a projection relationship with respect to the ink ejection ports in a time-divisional driving order, and The present invention also provides an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, in the present invention, "A shifts in a projection relationship with respect to B" means "the center line of A shifts with respect to the center line of B". Further, when the word "almost" is used in the present invention, it means that "almost" includes a word that is outside the range of the word itself to be modified but whose difference is extremely small or within an error range.

(First Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the discharge ports are shifted with respect to heaters arranged on one straight line. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a nozzle structure of an ink jet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet recording head of this embodiment is of a so-called side shooter type (see FIG. 2). The figure shows
As is clear from the following description, for convenience of explanation, 3
Only two nozzles are described. In order to show the positional relationship between the discharge port 3 and the heater 2, both of them are shown by solid lines.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heaters 2 are arranged on one straight line. Reference numeral 4 is a dashed line indicating the center of the heater 2. An end of an ink flow path (not shown) branched from the ink supply path 1 toward each nozzle (the ink supply path 1
The distance from the branch position 5) to the heater 2 is equal, and the heaters are arranged in two rows (even and odd rows). The heater is the same size for all nozzles and 3
The square of 6 μm square is 26 μm square. Nozzle density is 600 dpi, segment 0
And the interval between segments 1 is 42.3 μm.

By the way, as a result of the inventor's diligent study, as shown in FIG. 1, the position of the discharge port 3 facing the thermal energy generator (heater) 2 provided in the ink flow path 6 is shown in FIG. It has been found that when slightly shifted in the direction of moving toward or away from 1 (or branch position 5), the landing position of the ink droplet tends to shift in the direction in which the ejection port is shifted (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle in which the center of the discharge port is shifted toward the branch position with respect to the heater.
(B) is a sectional view of the nozzle in which the center of the discharge port is shifted away from the branch position with respect to the heater.

Although FIG. 2 shows the odd nozzles, it goes without saying that even the even nozzles deflect and discharge the ink droplets in the tendency shown in FIG. 2 without being shown. In FIG. 2, the height H of the channel is 17 μm, and the thickness T of the orifice plate is 9 μm. Further, for convenience, the shape of the discharge port is a square, but a similar effect can be obtained by a shape such as a rectangle, a circle, or a star.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the displacement amount of the discharge port and the displacement of the landing position of the ink droplet.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the amount of displacement of the discharge port 3 with respect to the heater 2 is positive, the ink supply path 1
In the case of minus, it is closer to the ink supply path 1 side. The present invention makes it possible to control the ejection direction of the ink droplets by adjusting the amount of displacement of the ejection port in accordance with the driving order during the time-division driving by utilizing this phenomenon.

Therefore, with respect to the ink supply path 1, the center of each heater 2 of the even-numbered heater group segment 0, segment 2, segment 4,... The distance between the centers is arranged as follows.

Segment 0 is +2.0 μm, segment 2 is −1.5 μm, segment 4 is −0.5 μm, segment 6 is 0 μm, segment 8 is +1.0 μm, segment 10 is +2 μm, segment 12 is −2 μm, segment 14 is −1.0 μm, segment 16 is 0 μm
m, segment 18 is +0.5 μm, segment 20 is +1.5 μm, segment 22 is −2.0 μm, segment 24 is −1.0 μm, and segment 26 is −0.5 μm
m, the segment 28 is shifted by +0.5 μm, and the segment 30 is shifted by +1.0 μm according to the time-division driving order.

On the other hand, the distance between the center of the heater and the center of the discharge port of the odd heater group segment 1, segment 3, segment 5,...
Segment 1 is 0 μm, segment 3 is -0.5 μm,
Segment 5 is −1.5 μm, segment 7 is +2.0
μm, segment 9 is +1.0 μm, segment 11 is +0.5 μm, segment 13 is −0.5 μm, segment 15 is −1.0 μm, and segment 17 is −2.0 μm
m, segment 19 is +1.5 μm, segment 21 is +0.5 μm, segment 23 is 0 μm, segment 2
5 is −1.0 μm, segment 27 is −2.0 μm, segment 29 is +2.0 μm, and segment 31 is +1.
0 μm.

The operation of the ink jet recording head according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, when a pulse is applied to the heater,
Ink is supplied from the central ink supply path 1 to the segment 255 nozzle from the segment 0 through the ink flow path,
Ink droplets are ejected from the ejection port 3. Since the number of nozzles is as large as 256 nozzles, the following time-sharing drive is performed to suppress the instantaneous current value.

In the even segment, segments 0, 32,
.. 224 in the first block, and segments 17, 49, 8 in the odd-numbered segments.
241 are eight nozzles as the first block.

Hereinafter, the second block is composed of segments 10, 42, 74,..., 234 for even-numbered segments, and segments 27, 59, 91,.
51, which is driven every eight nozzles on one side. The third block is an even-numbered segment 20, 52,.
4, odd segments 5, 37, 69, ..., 229,
The fourth block is an even-numbered segment 30, 62,.
54, odd-numbered segments are 15, 47, 79, ..., 2
39, the fifth block is an even segment 8, 40,.
, 232, odd-numbered segments are 25, 57, 89, ...
249, the sixth block is an even segment 18,5
0, ..., 242, odd-numbered segments are 3,35, ...
, 227, 7th block is even segment 28, 6
, 252, odd-numbered segments 13, 45,.
237, the eighth block is an even segment 6, 38,
, 230, odd-numbered segments 23, 55, ...,
247, the ninth block is an even segment 16, 48,.
.., 240, odd-numbered segments 1, 33,.
5, the 10th block is an even segment 26, 58, ...
..., 250, odd-numbered segments 11, 43, ..., 23
5, the eleventh block is an even segment 4, 36,.
, 228, odd-numbered segments 21, 53, ..., 24
5, the twelfth block is an even segment 14, 46,.
, 238, odd-numbered segments 31, 63, ..., 25
5, the thirteenth block is an even segment 24, 56,.
, 248, odd segments 9, 41, ..., 23
3, the 14th block is an even segment 2, 36,.
, 226, odd-numbered segments 19, 51, ..., 24
3. The fifteenth block is an even segment 12, 46,.
, 236, odd-numbered segments 29, 61, ..., 25
3. The 16th block is an even segment 22, 56,.
, 246, odd-numbered segments 7, 39, ..., 247
It is formed with.

Now, from segment 0 to segment 3 in FIG.
When the image data up to 1 flows ON, the drive pulse is applied to the heaters of the segments 0 to 31 in the order of the block numbers 1 to 16. At this time, the interval between drive pulses applied to each block is 5.9.
μs.

The time-division driving order is first, second, third
The segments in the 7th to 7th blocks are, for example, the even segments 0, 10, 20, 30,.
The ejection openings 8, 18, and 28 eject the ink droplets 7 in the same direction as in FIG. 2A because the ejection openings are shifted in the (+) direction away from the ink supply path 1. Similarly, the odd-numbered segments 17, 27, 5, 15, 25, 3, and 13 are displaced in the (-) direction in which the discharge ports are close to the supply path 1, and therefore, FIG.
The ink droplet 7 is ejected in the direction as shown in FIG. In this case, it can be said that the first to seventh even-numbered segments are "open-eye" discharges and the odd-numbered segments are "close-eye" discharges.

Here, the ejection mode in which the ejection ports of the even-numbered segments or the odd-numbered segments move away (open) from the ink supply path 1 is referred to as “open eye” ejection, and the ejection mode in the direction toward the ink supply path 1 is referred to as “open”. Crossover is defined as discharge.
According to this definition, FIG.
(B) shows “crossover” discharge. As shown in FIG. 3, the relationship between the displacement amount of the ejection port and the landing position is such that the larger the displacement amount of the ejection port, the greater the displacement amount in the ejection direction.

The order of the time-division driving is the eighth and ninth (for example, the aforementioned even-numbered segments 6 and 16 and odd-numbered segment 2
In 3 and 1), the ejection direction does not change without a shift. 10th to 16th (for example, the above-mentioned even segment 26,
4, 14, 24, 2, 12, 22, odd segment 1
1, 21, 31, 9, 19, 29, and 7), on the contrary, the even-numbered side has the same “cross-eyed” discharge as in FIG. 2B, and the odd-numbered side has the same “open-eye” discharge as in FIG. 2A. Become.

When time-division driving is performed as described above, FIG.
The landing position of the ink droplet indicated by is shifted,
As shown in FIG. 4, the linearity is maintained and a good image can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the heater is displaced with respect to the discharge ports arranged on one straight line, contrary to the first embodiment. It is. Reference numeral 4a is an alternate long and short dash line indicating the center of the discharge port 3.

Also in the case of this embodiment, the distance between the center of each heater of the even-numbered heater group segment 0, segment 2, segment 4,... Are arranged as follows. Segment 0 is +2.0 μm, segment 2 is −1.5 μm, segment 4 is −0.5 μm,
Segment 6 is 0 μm, segment 8 is +1.0 μm,
Segment 10 is +2 μm, segment 12 is −2 μm
m, segment 14 is −1.0 μm, segment 16 is 0 μm, segment 18 is +0.5 μm, segment 2
0 is +1.5 μm, segment 22 is −2.0 μm, segment 24 is −1.0 μm, and segment 26 is −0.0 μm.
5 μm, segment 28 is +0.5 μm, segment 3
0 indicates that the heater is shifted with respect to the discharge port in accordance with the time-division driving order, such as +1.0 μm. On the other hand, the distance between the heater center and the discharge port center of the odd heater group segments 1, segment 3, segment 5,..., Segment 31 on the right side is 0 μm for segment 1, −0.5 μm for segment 3, and 5 for segment 5. −1.5 μm, segment 7 is +2.0 μm, segment 9 is +1.0 μm, segment 11 is +0.5 μm, and segment 13 is −0.0 μm.
5 μm, segment 15 is −1.0 μm, segment 1
7 is −2.0 μm, segment 19 is +1.5 μm, segment 21 is +0.5 μm, segment 23 is 0 μm
m, the segment 25 is −1.0 μm, the segment 27 is −2.0 μm, the segment 29 is +2.0 μm, and the segment 31 is +1.0 μm. ing.

In the case of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the first to seventh time-divisional driving orders are the first half.
Even segments 0, 10, 20, 30, 8, 18, 2
8, odd-numbered segments 11, 21, 31, 9, 19, 29 and 7 from the 10th to 16th half of the second half are “open” discharge, and the 10th to 16th even-numbered segments 26 in the second half of the time-sharing driving order are 4, 14, 24, 2, 12, 22,
The first to seventh odd segments 17, 27 in the first half,
5, 15, 25, 3, and 13 are “crossover” discharges. In the middle, the eighth and ninth even-numbered segments 6, 16 and odd-numbered segments 1, 11 discharge straight because the heater is not displaced from the center of the discharge port, and form a linear image as shown in FIG. .

In this embodiment, the difference between the C-H distances is 4
μm, but there is almost no refill difference between the nozzle having a short CH-H distance and the nozzle having a long CH distance.

In the embodiments described above, the case where the print head has two rows of nozzles has been described. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to two rows, and that the present invention can be practiced with more than one row or even with one row. It is easy to understand.

FIG. 10 shows the overall appearance of the ink jet head 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 shows the head chip 12, which is a main part thereof, in a broken state. The head chip 12 is manufactured using, for example, a Si wafer having a thickness of 0.5 to 1 mm, and six elongated ink supply ports 15 arranged in parallel with each other correspond to six color inks used in the inkjet head 11. It is formed.

In each ink supply port 15, ink chambers 13 arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the ink supply port 15 are formed in two rows so as to sandwich the ink supply port 15. The chamber 13 is provided with an electrothermal conversion element 14 and a discharge port 16 facing the electrothermal conversion element 14 for discharging ink as droplets.

In the present embodiment, two rows of discharge ports 16 parallel to each other with the ink supply port 15 interposed therebetween are arranged in a so-called zigzag pattern shifted from each other by a half pitch.
Are arranged at a pitch of 600 dpi, so that the ejection ports 1 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the ink supply port 15 corresponding to each color ink.
The interval 6 is apparently arranged at a high density of 1200 dpi. The electrode wiring 17 formed of the electrothermal conversion element 14 and Al or the like and supplying power to the electrothermal conversion element 14 is formed on the surface of the Si wafer by a film forming technique, and the other terminal of the electrode wiring 17 is Bump 1 formed of Au or the like and protruding from the surface of heat generating substrate 12
It is 8.

The electrothermal conversion element 14 in this embodiment
Is a part of the heating resistor layer 19 which is not covered with the electrode wiring 17 formed of Al or the like and is formed of, for example, TaN, TaSiN, Ta-Al, etc., and has a sheet resistance value of 53Ω. In addition, these electrothermal conversion elements 1
4 and the electrode wiring 17 are covered with a protective layer 20 made of 4000 .ANG. Thick SiN, and the surface of the protective layer 20 on the electrothermal transducer 14 has a 2300 .degree.
The anti-cavitation layer 21 is formed by a.

The above-described ink supply port 15 is connected to the heat generating substrate 1.
It is formed by anisotropic etching using the crystal orientation of the Si wafer used as 2. That is, when the surface of the Si wafer is <100> and has a crystal orientation of <111> in its thickness direction, for example, an alkaline anisotropic etching solution such as KOH, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), or hydrazine is used. Etching is performed to a desired depth with selectivity in the etching direction. The ink chamber 13 and the ejection port 16 are formed by a photolithography technique, and supply power to the electrothermal transducer 14 to eject, for example, 4 picoliter ink droplets from the ejection port 16.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a schematic configuration of a printer using the ink jet recording system.

In FIG. 11, an apparatus main body M1000 forming the outer shell of the printer in this embodiment is a lower case M1000.
1001, upper case M1002, access cover M10
03 and an outer member of the discharge tray M1004, and a chassis M3019 (see FIG. 12) housed in the outer member.

The chassis M3019 is composed of a plurality of plate-like metal members having a predetermined rigidity, forms a skeleton of a recording apparatus, and holds each recording operation mechanism described later.

The lower case M1001 forms a substantially lower half of the apparatus main body M1000, and the upper case M1002 forms a substantially upper half of the apparatus upper main body M1000. It has a hollow structure having a storage space for storing the mechanism, and an opening is formed in each of the upper surface and the front surface thereof.

Further, one end of the discharge tray M1004 is rotatably held by the lower case M1001, so that the opening formed on the front surface of the lower case M1001 can be opened and closed by the rotation. For this reason, when performing the recording operation, the discharge tray M100
By rotating the opening 4 to the front side to open the opening, the recording sheets can be discharged from here, and the discharged recording sheets P can be sequentially stacked.
Also, the paper discharge tray M1004 has two auxiliary trays M.
1004a and M1004b are accommodated, and the tray support area can be expanded or reduced in three stages by pulling out each tray as needed.

One end of the access cover M1003 is rotatably held by the upper case M1002 so that an opening formed on the upper surface can be opened and closed. When the access cover M1003 is opened, the inside of the main body is opened. The stored recording head cartridge or ink tank can be replaced. Although not particularly shown here, when the access cover M1003 is opened and closed, a projection formed on the back surface rotates the cover opening / closing lever, and the rotation position of the lever is detected by a microswitch or the like. Thus, the open / closed state of the access cover can be detected.

A power key E0018 and a resume key E001 are provided on the rear upper surface of the upper case M1002.
9 is provided so as to be able to be pressed, and LED E0020
Is provided, and when the power key E0018 is pressed,
The LED E0020 is turned on to inform the operator that recording is possible. In addition, LEDE
0020 changes the way of blinking and changes the color, the buzzer E
It has various display functions such as notifying an operator of a printer trouble or the like by leveling 0021. When a trouble or the like is solved, the recording is restarted by pressing the resume key E0019.

Next, the apparatus main body M1000 of the printer
The recording operation mechanism according to the present embodiment, which is stored and held in the printer, will be described. The recording operation mechanism according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an automatic feeding unit M3022 that automatically feeds the recording sheet P into the apparatus main body, and a recording sheet P sent one by one from the automatic feeding unit. While leading to the position,
A conveyance unit M3029 for guiding the recording sheet P from the recording position to the discharge unit M3030, a recording unit for performing desired recording on the recording sheet P conveyed to the conveyance unit M3029, and a recovery unit M5000 for performing a recovery process on the recording unit and the like. It is composed of The recording section mainly includes a carriage M4001 movably supported by a carriage shaft M4021, and a recording head cartridge detachably mounted on the carriage M4001.

[0056]

According to the present invention, any one of the energy generator and the ink discharge port is arranged substantially on a straight line,
By relatively shifting the position of the energy generator and the position of the ink discharge port, the linearity of the image can be maintained even when time-division driving is performed. Also, if the distance between the energy generator and the branch position from the ink supply port to the ink flow path is made as close as possible within the tolerance of the manufacturing method for all nozzles, it becomes possible to maximize the refill frequency, The throughput of the printer can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a nozzle structure of an inkjet recording head according to a first embodiment of the invention.

2A is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle in which the center of a discharge port is shifted toward a branch position with respect to a heater, and FIG. 2B is a diagram in which the center of the discharge port is shifted away from the branch position with respect to a heater. It is sectional drawing of a nozzle.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a displacement amount of an ejection port and a displacement of an ink droplet landing position.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic diagram illustrating ink droplet traces recorded by the nozzle structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a nozzle structure of an ink jet recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a nozzle structure which is a first example of a bubble jet recording head according to the background art.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic diagram showing ink droplet traces recorded by the nozzle structure of the first example according to the background art.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a nozzle structure which is a second example of the bubble jet recording head according to the background art.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a main part of the inkjet head according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an overall view of an inkjet head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an overall view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a main part of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink supply path 2 Heater 3 Discharge port 4 One-dot chain line showing center of heater 4a One-dot chain line showing center of discharge port 5 Branch position 6 Ink flow path 7 Ink droplet 11 Ink jet head 12 Heat generating substrate 13 Ink chamber 14 Electrothermal conversion Element 15 Ink supply port 16 Discharge port 17 Electrode wiring 18 Bump 19 Heating resistor layer 20 Protective layer 21 Anti-cavitation layer M1000 Device body M1001 Lower case M1002 Upper case M1003 Access cover M1004 Discharge tray M1004a, M1004b Auxiliary tray M3019 Automatic supply of M3022 Sending unit M3029 Conveying unit M3030 Ejecting unit M4001 Carriage M4021 Carriage shaft M5000 Recovery unit E0018 Power key E0019 Resume key E0020 LED E0021 Buzzer H Flow path height T Orifice plate thickness P Recording sheet

Claims (14)

[Claims] A plurality of energy generators provided to face the ink discharge ports and configured to generate energy used to discharge ink from the ink discharge ports; An ink jet recording head that divides an ink discharge port and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the order of the blocks within the same driving cycle, wherein a plurality of the energy generators are arranged substantially on a straight line. An ink jet recording head, wherein each of the ink ejection ports is arranged so as to be shifted in a projection relationship with respect to the energy generator in a time-division driving order. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the direction in which the ink ejection ports are shifted is a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the energy generators are arranged. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the amount by which each of the ink ejection ports is shifted differs for each of the ink ejection ports in the block. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink ejection ports and the energy generators are provided in a plurality of rows. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which ink is supplied onto the energy generator and a direction in which ink is ejected from the ink ejection port are substantially perpendicular. 6. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the energy generator is an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy as the energy. 7. An ink discharge apparatus comprising: a plurality of ink discharge ports; and a plurality of energy generators provided to face the ink discharge ports and generating energy used for discharging ink from the ink discharge ports. An ink jet recording head that divides an ink ejection port and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the block order within the same driving cycle, wherein a plurality of the ink ejection ports are arranged substantially on a straight line. An ink jet recording head, wherein the energy generators are arranged so as to be shifted in a projection relationship with respect to the ink ejection ports in a time-division driving order. 8. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the direction in which the energy generators are shifted is a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the ink ejection ports are arranged. 9. The amount by which each of the energy generators is displaced is:
8. The ink jet print head according to claim 7, wherein the energy generator differs for each of the energy generators in the block. 10. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the ink discharge ports and the energy generators are provided in a plurality of rows. 11. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein a direction in which ink is supplied onto the energy generator and a direction in which ink is ejected from the ink ejection port are substantially perpendicular. 12. The ink jet recording head according to claim 7, wherein the energy generator is an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy as the energy. 13. An ink ejection apparatus, comprising: a plurality of ink ejection ports; and a plurality of energy generators provided facing the ink ejection ports to generate energy used to eject ink from the ink ejection ports. An ink jet recording head that divides an ink discharge port and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the order of the blocks within the same drive cycle, wherein the plurality of energy generators are arranged substantially on a straight line. An ink jet recording head, wherein each of the ink ejection ports is arranged in a projected relationship with respect to the energy generator in a time-division driving order, and a member for mounting the ink jet recording head; ,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: 14. An ink discharge apparatus comprising: a plurality of ink discharge ports; and a plurality of energy generators provided facing the ink discharge ports and configured to generate energy used for discharging ink from the ink discharge ports. An ink jet recording head that divides an ink discharge port and the energy generator into a plurality of blocks and performs time-division driving in the order of the blocks within the same driving cycle, wherein a plurality of the ink discharge ports are substantially one.
An ink jet recording head which is arranged side by side on a straight line, and wherein each of the energy generators is arranged in a projected relationship with respect to the ink discharge port in a time-division driving order, and A member for
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: