JP2002192727A - Ink jet recording head, ink jet recorder and ink jet recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an ink jet recording head in which reduction of uneven density, uneven streak or joint streak of multipass, or complementary operation of nonejection can be effected by one pass by controlling the hitting position of ink. SOLUTION: In a side shooter type recording head, a plurality of heating areas are formed in each nozzle in the arranging direction of nozzles and hitting position of ink from each nozzle is controlled by driving the plurality of heating areas selectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a side shooter type ink jet recording head for recording on a recording material by discharging ink to the recording material, a recording apparatus and a recording method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording apparatus used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer or a word processor, etc., is made of paper or plastic thin plate based on image information. is configured to continue to record an image on (OHP or the like) a recording material such as (a recording medium) (including characters, symbols, etc.). These recording apparatuses can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a recording method in which a main scanning is performed in a direction crossing a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and then the recording material is set. The image is recorded by a recording unit (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves (main scanning) along the line, and after one line of recording is completed, a predetermined amount of paper feed (sub scanning) is performed. By repeating the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the row, the image is recorded in a desired range of the recording material.

On the other hand, the recording material transport direction (sub-scanning direction)
In a line type recording apparatus that uses a fixed recording head in which recording elements are juxtaposed in a direction intersecting with the recording medium and performs recording only in the sub-scan direction in which the recording material is transported in the transport direction, the recording material is positioned at a predetermined recording position. , And a predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed while continuously performing recording for one line at a time, and an image is recorded on the entire recording material.

Ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus), which performs recording by discharging ink from recording means (recording head) onto a recording medium, it is easy to compact recording means, a high-definition image It can record at high speed, can record on plain paper without requiring special processing, has low running cost, and uses a non-impact method to reduce noise and use multi-color ink. It has advantages such as easy recording of a color image.

[0006] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. In addition, by utilizing the advantages of the IC technology and the micromachining technology, it is easy to make the recording unit longer and planar (two-dimensional), and it is also easier to make the recording unit longer and denser. .

[0007] In an ink jet recording head using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating means and manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process and having multiple discharge ports, liquid paths corresponding to each discharge port are provided. There is known a configuration in which an electrothermal converter is provided for each liquid path, and ink is supplied to each liquid path from a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid path.

FIG. 15 is a partially broken perspective view showing a typical schematic configuration of such an ink jet recording head.

The recording head 1 shown in FIG. 10 is a so-called edge shooter type recording head in which discharge ports for discharging ink are provided in the direction of the extension of the length of the flow path. It is composed of an electrothermal transducer 3, an electrode 4, a nozzle wall (liquid path wall) 5, a top plate 6, and the like formed on a substrate 2 through a semiconductor manufacturing process.
Ink (recording liquid) 12 is supplied from a not-shown ink tank (ink storage chamber) into the common liquid chamber 8 of the recording head 1 via the ink supply pipe 7. 9 is a connector for the ink supply pipe 7. The ink 12 supplied into the common liquid chamber 8 is supplied into each nozzle 10 by capillary action,
By forming a meniscus at the discharge port 13 at the tip of the nozzle 10, the liquid is stably held. Here, when electricity is supplied to the electrothermal converter 3, the ink on the surface of the electrothermal converter 3 is heated, a foaming phenomenon occurs, and ink droplets are ejected from the ejection port 13 by the foaming energy. With the above configuration, the multi-nozzle inkjet recording head 1 can be manufactured with a high-density nozzle arrangement.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view from the nozzle of the recording head of FIG. 15 to the discharge port. Inside the recording head 1, an electrothermal converter (heater) 3 is provided in a nozzle 10 connected to the common liquid chamber 8, and discharge ports 13 are arranged between discharge port surfaces 11. In the case of the ink jet recording apparatus having such a configuration, the ink 12 supplied from the common liquid chamber 8 is supplied.
Passes through the nozzle 10 and foams due to the heat generated by the electrothermal converter 3, and the ink 12 is discharged from the discharge port 13.

By the way, not only in such a configuration but also in an ink jet recording apparatus, it is a great proposition to control the ink to be ejected with respect to various factors such as high speed, high image quality and high reliability. For example, in order to achieve high image quality, it has been proposed to reduce the size of the ejected ink droplet or to change the amount of the ejected ink.

As one example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52410 discloses that a plurality of heaters are provided at nozzles located at both ends of a recording head to control ejected ink droplets (hereinafter, also referred to as droplets). There is disclosed an invention for reducing black streaks and white streaks. This configuration is shown in FIG. The difference from the configuration of FIG. 16 described above is that the electrothermal transducer 3 (hereinafter referred to as a heater) provided in the nozzles 10 at both ends is divided into two.

In FIG. 17, two heaters 3-1 and 3-2 are arranged in the nozzle 10 at the end of the recording head 1 along the ink ejection direction. In such an edge shooter type ink jet recording head, the ejection port 1 from the heater
When the distance to 3 is long, the droplet becomes large, and when it is short, the droplet becomes small. Therefore, the size of the drop red can be controlled by selecting the heaters 3-1 and 3-2 to be driven.

However, in order to make the droplets as small and uniform as possible to achieve high image quality, there are nozzles parallel to the substrate 2 as described above.
In the edge shooter method in which ink is also discharged in parallel with the heater surface, it is difficult at present due to manufacturing accuracy. In such an edge shooter type recording head, it is common to cut and polish the ejection surface after providing the nozzle 10 and the heater in order to increase the accuracy of the ejection surface. There is a problem that the above positional accuracy is relatively easy to vary.

Therefore, recently, FIGS.
The so-called side shooter type head configuration that discharges ink to a side facing a heater surface (heating surface) as shown in FIG. FIG. 19 is a diagram viewed from the opening side of the nozzle, in which S11 to S52,... The recording head 1 shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 has the same configuration as the recording head 1 of the edge shooter type shown in FIG. 17 in which the heater 3 is provided in the nozzle 10 connected to the common liquid chamber 8. is there. However, in the side shooter method, the ink ejection direction is substantially perpendicular to the heating surface of the heater 3, and the opening surface of the ejection port 13 is arranged substantially parallel to the heating surface of the heater 3.

In the case of this side shooter type recording head, since the positional relationship between the substrate 2 and the top plate 6 occupies most of the distance accuracy between the nozzle which controls the size of the droplet and the heater, it is easy to increase the accuracy. In addition, since the distance between the heater 3 and the discharge port 13 is shortened, the ink is discharged efficiently, so that the size of the droplet is easily stabilized against external factors such as heat. There are benefits. For these reasons, side shooter type recording heads have recently become mainstream.

[0017]

However, in the configuration of the side shooter type recording head, even if a small droplet is achieved, the paper feeding accuracy is poor, and the accuracy when the droplet lands on a recording material is improved. Due to insufficient, there is a problem that dot streaks (white streaks, black streaks) are conspicuous.

As a countermeasure, so-called multi-pass printing has been proposed in which the recording head is moved little by little to overwrite. In this multi-pass printing, the paper feed amount is set to 1 / n of the nozzle to be used, and printing is performed n times with the data thinned out complementarily to 1 / n at the time of the main scanning, so that one raster line is divided into a plurality (n).
) Nozzles.

However, when this multi-pass printing is employed, there is a disadvantage that the printing speed is reduced by the amount of overwriting.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by controlling the landing position of ink, it is possible to reduce the streak of an output image, stably produce a high-quality printed image, and lower the printing speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head, an ink jet recording apparatus, and an ink jet recording method which can be obtained without causing any trouble.

[0021]

According to one aspect of the present invention,
By heating the ink with an electrothermal converter, the ink is ejected in a direction facing the heating surface of the electrothermal converter,
In an ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the ejected ink from an ejection port toward a recording material, a plurality of heating areas which are arranged to change the ejection direction of the ink and are independently controllable for each nozzle. Are arranged.

In another aspect of the present invention, the heating area is an area which is controlled in accordance with an ink landing position.

In another embodiment of the invention, the nozzle is
The nozzle is selected according to the ink landing position.

Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a nozzle to be used for printing and a heating area to be heated during recording are selected based on information on abnormal nozzles.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has:
Two heating regions are arranged in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged. The nozzles to be used are alternately divided by a plurality of nozzles for each line, and the heating region to be heated during recording is alternately switched for each line from the two heating regions. It is characterized by selecting.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has:
Three heating regions are formed in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and the three heating regions are selectively heated and driven in accordance with the landing positions of ink from each nozzle.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the recording head is for a line printer, and each nozzle is provided with two heating regions in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged.
A plurality of nozzles are alternately shifted for each line, and a heating area to be heated at the time of printing is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating areas. It is characterized in that non-discharge of a non-discharge nozzle is complemented by nozzles shifted by the number.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the ink is heated by an electrothermal transducer to discharge the ink in a direction facing a heating surface of the electrothermal transducer, and the ejected ink is ejected from a discharge port through a discharge port. In an ink jet recording apparatus for forming an image on a recording material by using the discharged ink by using an ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles ejecting toward a material, each nozzle of the ink jet recording head has a plurality of heating areas. And a control means for selectively driving a plurality of heating regions of the respective nozzles to control the direction of ink ejection.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the ink is heated by an electrothermal converter to discharge the ink in a direction facing the heating surface of the electrothermal converter, and the discharged ink is discharged from a discharge port through a discharge port. In an ink jet recording method using an ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles ejecting toward a material, and forming an image with the ejected ink on a recording material, each nozzle of the ink jet recording head has a plurality of heating regions. Are provided, and the ejection direction of ink is controlled by selectively driving a plurality of heating regions of each nozzle.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

(First Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the present invention is applied to a serial type ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

[0033] In FIG 1, the conveyance roller 23 is driven by a sheet feed motor 26 to convey the recording medium 40 such as paper in the form of a continuous paper or cut sheets. Recording material 40
Is transported between the recording head 1 and a platen (not shown) with high precision by the transport rollers 23 and other auxiliary transport rollers (not shown) such as spurs and rollers.

The recording head 1 is mounted on a carriage (not shown). The carriage is guided and supported so that it can reciprocate in the directions of arrows Sa and Sb according to the rotation of the endless rubber belt 24b along the guide rail 24a. That is, the recording head 1 and the carriage
The pulley 28b is connected to a rubber belt 24b stretched over the pulleys 28a and 28b, and is driven by rotating a pulley 28b fixed to a motor shaft 27 by a carriage motor 26.

When the carriage and the recording head 1 have the arrow S
Recording is performed on the recording material 40 in the course of the serial scan driving in the a and Sb directions. An encoder scale 24c is provided along the scanning direction of the recording head 1, and the position of the recording head 1 in the scanning direction is detected by detecting the scale of the encoder scale 24c by an encoder sensor mounted on a carriage. I do.

The recording head 1 of this embodiment is for color recording, and is a set of four recording heads corresponding to four colors, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (B). It is configured as a body (unit).

These recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1
For each of B, ink is supplied from ink tanks 19Y, 19M, 19C, and 19B in which corresponding color inks are stored. Further, the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1
C and 1B are caps 31Y, 31M, 31C and 31 respectively for preventing the ink from thickening, fixing and drying.
It is connectable to the suction pump 30 via B and the pipe 32, and is configured so that the suction pump 30 can suck a predetermined amount of ink in the recording head 1.

FIG. 2 shows one recording head 1 and recording material 4
It is the conceptual diagram which showed the relative positional relationship with 0 three-dimensionally.
It is assumed that the flying (ejection) direction of the ink is Z, the nozzle arrangement direction (conveying direction of the recording material 40) is X, and the scanning direction of the recording head is Y.

FIG. 3 shows the recording heads 1Y and 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of one of the recording heads M, 1C, and 1B as viewed from the vicinity of an ejection port, and the other recording heads have the same configuration. The recording head shown in FIG. 3 is of a side shooter type, and ink is ejected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper surface.

In the recording head of FIG. 3, two heaters (electrothermal transducers, heating areas) 3a and 3b are provided for each nozzle, and the heaters 3a and 3b are provided for each nozzle.
Are arranged along the nozzle arrangement direction. In the nozzle at the end, the heater 3a has two electrode wires S11,
S12 is connected, and two electrode wirings S1 are connected to the heater 3b.
4, S13 are connected. For other nozzles,
Similar electrode connections are made.

[0041] Figure 4, the heater 3 in one nozzle
3 shows the relative positional relationship between the recording material 40 and the ejection openings 13 and the recording material 40.

[0042] In this case, the heater 3a, 3b, the discharge port 1
3 is located at a distance of 20 μm, during which the ink is usually filled.

The length of each heater 3a, 3b in the nozzle arrangement direction is approximately 20 μm, and the center position of each of the heaters 3a, 3b is 10 μm from the center position O of the discharge port 13. It is also assumed that the recording material 40 is at a distance of 1 mm from the ejection port 13.

In such a configuration, when the two heaters 3a and 3b are simultaneously driven to heat, the ink landing position is Po. However, when one of the heaters 3a and 3b is heated and driven, the landing position is left and right. Pa and Pb are shifted by about 0.5 mm respectively. That is, the landing position Pa of the heater 3a and the landing position Pb of the heater 3b are about 1 mm.
Just away.

The recording head used in this embodiment is as follows.
When one of the two heaters 3a, 3b is driven, a total of 256 nozzles eject ink of an ejection amount of 9 pl. The recording material 40 having a dot diameter of about 60 μm on the recording material 40 generated by the ejected ink was used. The image resolution is 600 dpi in the nozzle arrangement (X) direction, that is, the nozzle density is 42.
The pitch is 3 μm. Here, the difference in landing position Pb by landing position Pa and the heater 3b by the heater 3a is about 1mm
Means that the landing position is shifted by about 24 (= 1000 / 42.3) nozzles.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the recording head 1 scans on the recording material 40 in the Y direction, the printing area for one scan when the heater is driven only by the heater 3a of each nozzle is Da. The print area when the heater is driven only by the heater 3b of each nozzle is Db, and both are in the nozzle arrangement direction (the transport direction of the recording material 40).
The position is shifted by four nozzles.

In the first embodiment, one raster line is recorded by using two nozzles by utilizing the displacement of 24 nozzles when one heater 3a is driven and the other heater 3b is driven. By doing so, recording similar to multi-pass printing is achieved by one scan.

FIG. 6 specifically shows such print control. In FIG. 6, the numbers in the X direction indicate raster line numbers, and the numbers in the Y direction indicate dot numbers along the scanning direction. The numbers written in the table frame indicate the nozzle numbers, and (a) and (b) added to the nozzle numbers indicate which of the heaters 3a and 3b is driven. . For example, “0 (b)” indicates that the heater 3b of the nozzle number 0 is driven, and similarly “24 (a)” indicates that the heater 3a of the nozzle number 24 is driven.

The first raster line is recorded by driving the heater 3b of nozzle number 0 and the heater 3a of nozzle number 24 alternately.

The next raster line is recorded by driving the heater 3b of nozzle number 1 and the heater 3a of nozzle number 25 alternately.

The next raster line is nozzle number 2
The recording is performed by alternately driving the heater 3b of the nozzle 3 and the heater 3a of the nozzle number 26. The same applies hereinafter.

That is, in this case, the pixels with the even dot numbers are formed by driving one heater 3b, the pixels with the odd dot numbers are formed by driving the other heater 3a, and the pixels with the even dot numbers are formed. The image of each line is formed by shifting the nozzles used by the pixels and the pixels of the odd dot numbers by 24 nozzles. That is, the pixels with the even dot numbers are driven by one heater 3b of nozzles 0 to 229, and the pixels with the odd dot numbers are
It is driven by the other heater 3a of the 24th to 253rd nozzles.

In the present embodiment, the nozzles 254 to 256 are not used as spares, but they may be used by offsetting them so that the head position for each color can be adjusted. Further, in the present embodiment, the nozzles used are shifted by 24 nozzles between the pixels of the even dot numbers and the pixels of the odd dot numbers. However, this shift amount depends on the characteristics of the printing head used, the image resolution, and the like. An appropriate value may be set according to the positional relationship with the recording material.
In addition, in order to switch between the heaters 3a and 3b, a logical product with a signal of a latch or the like is taken for each even-odd dot, so that
The 3a side and the 3b side may be selected.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, one recording raster line is formed in one pass by using two nozzles shifted by n nozzles. Therefore, a landing error unique to the nozzle (hereinafter referred to as a "yoke" error). (Abbreviated), white stripes or black stripes can be suppressed without reducing the speed unlike multi-pass printing.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a recording head 1 according to a second embodiment.

In the recording head 1, one heater 3 is apparently arranged for each nozzle. However, each heater is divided into two heaters by three electrode wirings S11, S12 and S13 arranged for each heater. Regions (heating regions) 3a, 3b
Is divided into That is, each heater 3 is provided with a wiring e having a low resistance perpendicular to the nozzle arrangement direction,
This prevents uneven heating or uneven foaming during heat driving.

In the second embodiment, three electrode wirings S1
By selecting two heater areas 3a and 3b divided by 1, S12 and S13 at the time of driving, control is performed in the same manner as when a plurality of heaters are provided. For example, the electrode wiring S12 is grounded (hereinafter referred to as GND), and a heat pulse corresponding to each print image signal is applied to the electrode wirings S11 and S13.

[0058] When the heat drives the heater region 3a side, the electrode wiring S12, S13 to the GND level, applying a predetermined heat pulse to the electrode wiring S11. Thereby, only the heater region 3a side is energized, and the heater region 3a
Is heated.

When the heater region 3b is driven by heat, the electrode wirings S12 and S11 are set to the GND level, and a predetermined heat pulse is applied to the electrode wiring S13. Thereby, only the heater region 3b side is energized, and the heater region 3b
Is heated.

As a result, also in the second embodiment, the landing position by the heater 3a and the landing position by the heater 3b can be shifted by a plurality of nozzles, as in the first embodiment. Therefore, this also in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment above, by shifting n nozzles 2
One recording raster line can be formed in one pass by using one nozzle.

In the second embodiment, the number of wires per nozzle is reduced by one compared to the first embodiment, so that the recording head and the contact can be reduced in size. In addition, the entire surface of the heater can be easily used.

Here, it is also possible to provide a potential difference between the electrode S11 and the electrode S13 so that the entire heater 3 is heated. In this case, the landing deviation between when the entire heater 3 is driven by heat and when one of the heater regions is driven is substantially half of the landing deviation when the one and the other heater regions 3a and 3b are driven. The nozzle drive as shown in FIG. 6 can be performed by utilizing the landing deviation. In this driving, the electrode wiring S1
2 can be lifted from the GRD, and the electrode S
It is also possible to always drive the electrode 11 and the electrode S13 with opposite polarities.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned driving, in order to equalize the size of the droplet, the applied signal must be changed between the case where the entire heater 3 is driven and the case where one half of the heater 3 is driven. it is desirable, in which case it is necessary to control such as changing the like heat time in accordance with the driving area.

(Third Embodiment) In the third embodiment, FIG.
Alternatively, a recording head having the configuration shown in FIG. 7 is used to drive the recording head as shown in FIG.

That is, odd scans (first scan,
In the third scan,...), Pixels with even dot numbers are formed by driving one heater 3b of nozzles 0 to 229, and pixels with odd dot numbers are formed by the other heater 3a of nozzles 24 to 253. Is formed by driving.

In an even-number scan (second scan, fourth scan,...), Pixels with even-numbered dot numbers are 2
Pixels with odd dot numbers are formed by driving the other heater 3b of nozzles 0 to 229, while pixels with odd dot numbers are formed by driving one heater 3a of nozzles 4 to 253.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the switching of the print nozzles as shown in FIG. 8 is performed for each scan, so that it is possible to suppress the dots from overlapping at the seam of the scanned image. This makes it possible to suppress uneven streaks that tend to occur at the seam of each scan. Conventionally, when the recording material 40 is transported for each scan,
If the transport amount is small, the dots overlap at the lower end of the previous scan and the upper end for new printing, and the recording material cannot absorb ink, and a dark streak occurs due to factors such as overflow. Further, when the recording material is excessively fed, there is a problem that a white streak is generated for each scan.

For this reason, it is effective to disperse the dots forming the image so that the dots of the seam do not slightly overlap. Therefore, in the third embodiment, these streaks are suppressed by alternately changing the nozzles used for each scan.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a recording head 1 according to a fourth embodiment.

In the recording head 1 shown in FIG. 9, as in the second embodiment, the number of heaters is apparently one, but four electrode wirings S11, S12, and S1 are provided for each heater.
3, each heater is divided into three heater regions (heating regions) 3α (portion sandwiched between S11 and S12), 3β
(Part sandwiched between S12 and S14), 3γ (S14, S14
13).

In this case, the electrode wirings S11 and S12 are paired, and the electrode wirings S14 and S13 are paired, and the first
Although it is possible to perform the same driving as that of the embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, the electrode wirings S11 and S14 are set as the first combination, the electrode wirings S12 and S13 are set as the second combination, and the electrode wirings S12 and S13 are set as the second combination. S12 and S14 are a third combination.

The heater 3 has three heater areas 3α, 3β,
3γ, and a central area 3β is a common area which is always driven by heating. First by electrode wiring S11 and S14
Is selected, the heater regions 3α, 3α
is driven by heating, and when the second combination of the electrode wirings S12 and S13 is selected, the heater regions 3β,
When 3γ is driven for heating and the third combination of the electrode wirings S12 and S14 is selected, the heater region 3β is driven for heating.

In this case, since the common area 3β is provided, the amount of dot displacement can be made smaller than in the above-described embodiment, and more precise control becomes possible.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the heater 3 in one nozzle.
3 shows a relative positional relationship between the ejection port 13 and the recording material 40.

In this case, the heater 3 has three regions 3α,
3β (common area) and 3γ. The length of the regions 3α and 3γ in the nozzle arrangement direction is approximately 4 μm, and the length of the common region 3β in the nozzle arrangement direction is approximately 26 μm. It is assumed that the distance between the heater 3 and the discharge port 13 is 25 μm, and the recording material 40 is at a distance of 0.5 mm from the discharge port 13.

Heater region 3 that is heated and driven when the first combination of electrode wires S11 and S14 is selected
The centers of α and 3β are shifted from the center O of the heater 3 by 2 μm, and the heater region 3 that is heated and driven when the second combination of the electrode wirings S12 and S13 is selected.
The centers of β and 3γ deviate from the center O of the heater 3 by 2 μm in the opposite direction.

In such a configuration, the electrode wiring S1
When the third combination of 2 and S14 is selected, the middle common region 3β is heated and driven, and the ink landing position at that time is Po. Also, the electrode wiring S11
When the first combination according to and S14 is selected,
The heater regions 3α and 3β are driven, and the ink landing position at that time is Pa that is approximately 40 μm shifted from Po. When the second combination of the electrode wirings S12 and S13 is selected, the heater regions 3β and 3γ are driven,
The landing position of the ink at that time is Pb which is shifted from the Po by approximately 40 μm.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the landing position of the ink can be shifted by 40 μm from the center Po of the ejection port, and the control amount is within 42.3 μm (600 dpi) per pixel.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, the correction of the droplet deflection is performed by using a plurality of different nozzles at the time of printing. In the fourth embodiment, however, the heater area within the same nozzle is corrected. , The deflection of the nozzle itself is controlled.

That is, the displacement of each nozzle when the middle common area 3β is driven and the amount of displacement are read by a scanner at a higher resolution than the nozzle density of the recording head.
Detecting a discharge state such as an optical sensor, and detected using any of the general methods has been proposed, such as detected using electrolysis or current, based on the detected twist information of each nozzle Then, it is determined which of the combinations of the three electrode wirings is selected in each nozzle. Then, the determined information is stored in a memory such as a RAM, and heater driving of each nozzle is executed using the stored information.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the heating area to be used is determined in advance for each nozzle in accordance with the amount of deflection of each nozzle of the recording head, and the heater driving of each nozzle is executed based on this determination information. I do.

FIG. 11 shows the print image in X, Y as in FIG.
This is obtained by simulating pixels in the directions. In the figure, black circles indicate dots that landed normally. A dotted circle indicates an ideal landing point, and a white circle indicates a state where the landing point is shifted (distorted).

In this case, it is assumed that the repeated landing accuracy of the nozzle is stable. In FIG. 11, the dot printed by the No. 1 nozzle approaches the dot printed by the No. 0 nozzle by a shift amount of half a pixel or less. In addition, since the dots printed by the third nozzle are closer to the dots printed by the fourth nozzle by half a pixel or more, the dots overlap.

It is assumed that when such a printed image is read by a scanner and checked in association with the nozzles, it is detected that the third nozzle has a greater variation in signal value than the first nozzle. In such a case, by performing the correction as shown in FIG. 11B, the dot variation could be made uniform. This correction is performed as follows.

That is, for the nozzles in which no deflection occurs, the electrode wirings S12 and S14 are selected, and the middle common region 3β is heated. However, in the case of the third nozzle in FIG. 11, the first combination by the electrode wirings S11 and S14 is selected to drive the heater regions 3α and 3β, or the second combination by the electrode wirings S12 and S13 is selected. Then, by driving the heater regions 3β and 3γ, the deflection is corrected, and as shown in FIG.
Dots are arranged uniformly.

(Fifth Embodiment) In the fifth embodiment, the present invention is applied to a line printer. Figure 1 shows a line printer.
As shown in FIG. 2, a fixed recording head 20 having a large number of nozzles for one line arranged in a direction Y intersecting (perpendicular to) the conveying direction X (sub-scanning direction) of the recording material 40 is used for recording. The recording is performed only by the sub-scan which sends the recording material 40 in the transport direction X.

In the recording head 20 shown in FIG. 12, as shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 9, a side shooter type configuration in which a plurality of heater regions are arranged in each nozzle in the nozzle arrangement direction. Has taken.

In the fifth embodiment, for example, one of a plurality of heater areas is driven to shift the landing position of a droplet by a plurality of nozzles in the nozzle arrangement direction. Discharge complementation is performed by one-pass printing. That is, when a certain nozzle fails to discharge, printing is performed by complementing the recording dots of the nozzles that have failed to discharge with another normal nozzle.

In the case of a serial printer, the recording head is scanned. In this case, the ejection failure in the forward path is complemented by the return path, so that the recording material is not conveyed and the recording medium is not conveyed. Vomiting complementation is possible.

The discharge failure complement in this line printer will be described with reference to FIGS.

It is assumed that the recording head 1 shown in FIG. 3 is used in this line printer. In this line printer, usually, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14,
The even-numbered (0, 2, 4,...) Raster lines are 0
The one heater area 3b of the nozzles No. to N is driven and formed, and the even-numbered (1, 3, 5,...) Raster lines are formed by the other heater areas of the nozzles 24 to (N + 24). 3a is formed by driving.

Assume that in the recording head 20, non-discharge is detected at the third nozzle.

In the case of FIG. 13, the paper feed speed is reduced to one half of the normal speed, or the discharge speed is increased to twice the normal speed, and the 27th nozzle is used for the interval time of the recording of each raster line. It compensates for missing dots due to ejection failure of the third nozzle.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, only nozzle 27 used for discharge failure complement is controlled to be driven during the interval time between recording of each raster line, so that discharge failure complement is performed. Prevents the nozzles to be used from being driven continuously, always prints at even time intervals,
It reduces the burden on the nozzle. Further, when it is assumed that the specific nozzle is driven continuously, the refill speed of the nozzle determines the printing speed, so that a reduction in the printing speed can be suppressed.

Incidentally, as a method of detecting a non-discharge nozzle, any method such as a method using a conventionally proposed optical sensor, a method using a current or a sound wave, may be adopted.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, by applying the present invention to a line printer, discharge failure complement without overwriting in one pass can be realized.

In the above embodiment, non-discharge nozzles are complemented.
The dot by the abnormal nozzle may be complemented.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. the recording head of the type in which among the inkjet by the thermal energy, is one that results in an excellent effect in a recording apparatus. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electric connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention may be used not only as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also as a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. it may be those such as the form.

[0107]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In each nozzle, a plurality of heating regions are formed in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and by selectively driving the plurality of heating regions, the landing position of the ink is controlled, so that the printing speed is not reduced. A high-quality printed image can be stably obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, the landing position is controlled according to the normal landing position of the ink, and the nozzle to be used is selected, so that the output image can be output without lowering the printing speed. Can be reduced, and unevenness due to poor paper feeding accuracy can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the ink landing position is controlled in accordance with the information of the non-discharge nozzle or the unstable nozzle equivalent thereto, so that the occurrence of uneven streaks on the image can be suppressed. These problems have been solved by replacing the recording head or the main body, so that the replacement period is extended, and eventually, the life of the recording head or the like is prolonged. Further, since correction and complement can be performed in one scan, there is also an effect of shortening the recording time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic structure of an ink-jet recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram three-dimensionally showing a relative positional relationship between a recording head and a recording material in a serial printer.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a first embodiment of a recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a heater of one nozzle of the recording head of the first embodiment and a recording material;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a printing result for one scan by the recording head of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining head drive control by the recording head according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a second embodiment of the recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining head drive control by a recording head according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a heater of one nozzle of a recording head of a fourth embodiment and a recording material.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining head drive control by a recording head according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram three-dimensionally showing a relative positional relationship between a recording head and a recording material in a line printer.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining head drive control by a recording head according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining head drive control by a recording head according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a general configuration of a recording head of an inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an edge shooter type recording head.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a conventional technique in an edge shooter type recording head.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a side shooter type recording head.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a side shooter type recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink jet recording head 2 Substrate 3 Heater (electrothermal transducer) 3a Heater (heater area, heating area) 3b Heater (heater area, heating area) 3α Heater area 3β Heater area (common area) 3γ Heater area 4 Electrode 6 Top plate 7 ink supply pipe 8 common liquid chamber 10 nozzle 11 discharge port surface 12 ink 13 discharge port 19 ink tank 20 recording head 23 transport roller 24a guide rail 24b rubber belt 24c encoder scale 26 carriage motor 27 motor shaft 28a pulley 28b pulley 30 suction pump 31 Cap 32 Pipe 40 Recording material S11 Electrode wiring S12 Electrode wiring S13 Electrode wiring

Claims (21)

[Claims] An ink is heated by an electrothermal converter to discharge ink in a direction facing a heating surface of the electrothermal converter, and the discharged ink is discharged from a discharge port toward a recording material. An ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles, wherein each nozzle is provided with a plurality of independently controllable heating regions arranged to change the direction of ink ejection. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the heating area is an area that is controlled according to an ink landing position. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is a nozzle selected according to an ink landing position. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a nozzle to be used for printing and a heating area to be heated during recording are selected based on information on the abnormal nozzle. 5. The recording head performs a serial scan. Each nozzle is provided with two heating regions in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and the nozzles to be used are alternately shifted by a plurality of nozzles for each line. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a heating area to be heated at the time of recording is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating areas. 6. The recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has three heating regions formed in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged. The three heating regions are arranged in accordance with the ink landing positions of the nozzles. 2. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the region is selectively heated and driven. 7. The recording head is for a line printer, each nozzle is provided with two heating regions in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and the nozzles to be used are alternately shifted by a plurality of nozzles for each line. the heating area for heating at the time of recording and changing selection alternately for each line from said two heating areas, during the recording of each line, the ejection failure nozzle by nozzle offset predetermined number of nozzles minute from a discharge failure nozzle discharge failure an ink jet recording head according to claim 1 for completion. 8. An ink is heated by an electrothermal converter to discharge ink in a direction facing a heating surface of the electrothermal converter, and the discharged ink is discharged from a discharge port toward a recording material. In an ink jet recording apparatus that forms an image with the ejected ink on a recording material using an ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles, each nozzle of the ink jet recording head is provided with a plurality of heating regions. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to selectively drive a plurality of heating regions of the nozzles to control an ink ejection direction. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a heating area to be heated at the time of recording is controlled according to a landing position of the ink. 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a nozzle to be used for recording is selected according to an ink landing position. 11. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a nozzle to be used for printing and a heating area to be heated at the time of recording are selected based on information of the abnormal nozzle. 12. The recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has two nozzles in the nozzle arrangement direction.
One heating region is formed, and the nozzles to be used are alternately divided by a plurality of nozzles for each line, and the heating region to be heated at the time of recording is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating regions. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein 13. The recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has three nozzles in the nozzle arrangement direction.
9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein three heating regions are formed, and the three heating regions are selectively heated and driven in accordance with a landing position of ink from each nozzle. 14. The recording head for a line printer, wherein each nozzle has two heating regions formed in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and the nozzles to be used are alternately shifted by a plurality of nozzles for each line. The heating area to be heated during recording is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating areas. During the recording of each line, the ejection failure of the ejection failure nozzle by the nozzle displaced from the ejection failure nozzle by a predetermined number of nozzles. 9. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein complementation is performed. 15. An ink is heated by an electrothermal converter to discharge ink in a direction facing a heating surface of the electrothermal converter, and the discharged ink is discharged from a discharge port toward a recording material. In an ink jet recording method using an ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles to form an image with the ejected ink on a recording material, a plurality of heating regions are arranged in each nozzle of the ink jet recording head, An ink jet recording method, characterized in that a plurality of heating regions of each nozzle are selectively driven to control an ink ejection direction. 16. A heating area to be heated at the time of recording is controlled according to a landing position of ink.
3. The inkjet recording method according to item 1. 17. The ink jet recording method according to claim 15, wherein a nozzle to be used for recording is selected according to an ink landing position. 18. The ink jet recording method according to claim 15, wherein a nozzle to be used for printing and a heating area to be heated at the time of recording are selected based on information on the abnormal nozzle. 19. The recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has two nozzles in the nozzle arrangement direction.
One heating region is formed, and the nozzles to be used are alternately divided by a plurality of nozzles for each line, and the heating region to be heated at the time of recording is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating regions. The ink jet recording method according to claim 15, wherein 20. The recording head performs a serial scan, and each nozzle has three nozzles in the nozzle arrangement direction.
16. The ink jet recording method according to claim 15, wherein three heating regions are formed, and the three heating regions are selectively heated and driven in accordance with a position where ink from each nozzle lands. 21. The recording head for a line printer, wherein each nozzle has two heating regions formed in the direction in which the nozzles are arranged, and the nozzles to be used are alternately shifted by a plurality of nozzles for each line. The heating area to be heated during recording is alternately switched and selected for each line from the two heating areas, and during the recording of each line, the ejection failure of the ejection failure nozzle by a predetermined number of nozzles from the ejection failure nozzle The inkjet recording method according to claim 15, wherein complementation is performed.