JP2002254648A - Recording head, carriage, image recording device using them, and control method for them - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording head, carriage, image recording device using them, and control method for them capable of printing a high quality image at high speed by controlling a variation in a driving voltage of the recording head. SOLUTION: When a recording data signal is received, a dummy resistance selection circuit counts the number of discharge nozzles which are used according to the recording data signal and drives a dummy resistance corresponding with the number of the discharge nozzles. One part of electric power which is imparted to the recording head is consumed by the dummy resistance, thereby, the same voltage as to drive the constant number of nozzles is normally imparted to the recording head, as a result, the variation in the driving voltage of the recording head can be controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording head and a carriage for ejecting ink droplets onto a recording material for recording, an image recording apparatus using them, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an information output device in, for example, a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile, etc., there is a printer for recording desired information such as characters and images on a sheet-like recording medium such as paper or film.

[0003] Various types of printing methods are known for printers. However, ink-jet printing is possible because non-contact printing is possible on printing media such as paper, colorization is easy, and quietness is high. In recent years, the method has attracted special attention. As a configuration, a recording head that ejects ink according to desired recording information is mounted, and recording is performed while reciprocating scanning in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of a recording medium such as paper. Are generally widely used because they are inexpensive and easy to miniaturize.

In general, an ink jet recording apparatus mainly comprises a carriage section in which a carriage on which a recording head and an ink tank are mounted moves in the main scanning direction, and a transport section which transports recording paper in the sub scanning direction.

The carriage scans serially in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the recording paper is conveyed, and performs one-line recording while discharging ink droplets from a plurality of discharge ports of the recording head onto the recording paper. Next, the recording paper is conveyed by an amount equal to the recording width of the recording head, and when that is completed, one line of recording is performed again, and a desired image is formed by repeating this.

A recording head used in such an ink jet recording apparatus is of an ink jet type in which a driving pulse is applied to an electrothermal transducer (ejection heater) provided at each ejection port to foam ink to perform recording. The head is the mainstream, and the drive is performed by applying a predetermined voltage between the common electrodes (COM1 to n) and the segment electrodes (SEG1 to n) as in a drive circuit of a recording head shown in FIG. In addition, ink droplets are ejected from desired nozzles by a combination of the common electrodes (COM1 to COMn) and the segment electrodes (SEG1 to SEGn).

However, when one segment electrode is selected for one common electrode and only one heater is driven, and when all segment electrodes (SEG1-n) are used for all common electrodes (COM1-n). Is selected, the current difference flowing through the common electrodes (COM1 to COMn) when all the heaters are driven is very large, so that the voltage drop generated at the common electrode portion fluctuates. For this reason, the driving voltage changes in accordance with the number of ejection heaters that are driven at the same time, which may cause a variation in ejection amount and cause density unevenness in a printed image.

The drive voltage is set by setting a voltage value obtained by adding a certain margin to the lower limit voltage value at which ejection is stable when the number of drive nozzles is the maximum, that is, when the drive voltage is the lowest. On the other hand, when the number of driving nozzles is small, an excessive voltage is applied to the heater, causing a problem on durability.

Therefore, as disclosed in JP-A-7-166584, the number of discharge heaters driven simultaneously is counted each time, and the driving pulse width is controlled in accordance with the counted number to compensate for the power reduced by the voltage drop. , Had solved the above problems.

[0010]

However, recently, the resolution of an ink jet recording apparatus and the printing speed have been increasing more rapidly than ever before, and in order to realize them, the number of nozzles of a recording head has been increased to increase the number of nozzles. The shortening of the discharge time due to the increase in the discharge frequency is further accelerated.

As a result, increasing the number of nozzles causes an increase in the number of heaters driven by the common electrode, and increasing the discharge frequency causes an increase in the heater current. There is a problem that the width becomes extremely large as compared with the related art.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when the printer body substrate is connected to the recording head via the carriage substrate, a fluctuation in a voltage drop occurring in a wiring path, or as shown in FIG. The fluctuation of the voltage drop generated in the wiring path when directly connected to the recording head without the intervention of the carriage substrate has conventionally been within the allowable range, but has recently become not negligible due to an increase in the energizing current.

In order to compensate for the drive voltage fluctuation due to the above-described factors, it is essential to further increase the control width of the drive pulse width.

However, if the drive pulse width is increased, there are adverse effects such as instability of foaming, so that the drive voltage fluctuation cannot be corrected in some cases. Further, recently, short pulse width drive with a drive pulse width of about 2 μS has been predominant for the purpose of stabilizing ejection, so that it is difficult to perform the process of expanding the control width of the drive pulse as described above. Has become.

In order to control the drive pulse width,
Another problem is that the system becomes complicated because a plurality of pulse generation circuits are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to overcome the problems of the prior art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording head capable of suppressing fluctuations in the driving voltage of the recording head and printing high-quality images at high speed. , A carriage, an image recording apparatus using them, and a control method thereof.

[0017]

An image recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, by scanning a carriage on which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction is mounted on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements, an image is formed based on input recording data. An image recording apparatus for performing recording, comprising: a measuring unit that measures the number of the recording elements that are simultaneously driven at each drive timing based on the recording data; and a recording unit that is supplied to the recording head based on the number. Control means for controlling the power for image recording to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings.

For example, the control means has a plurality of power consuming means for consuming power.

Also, for example, the control means is characterized in that the power consumption of the plurality of power consuming means is equal.

Further, for example, the power consuming means includes a dummy resistor.

Further, for example, the control means has a driving means for selectively driving the power consuming means.

Further, for example, the control means further includes a classifying means for classifying the numbers into groups, and the driving means selectively drives the power consuming means in accordance with the groups, whereby the power is reduced. It is characterized by being within a certain range.

Also, for example, the image recording is capable of color recording using different inks, and the recording head prepared for each of the different inks is provided with the measuring means and the control means, respectively. It is characterized by.

Further, for example, the recording head is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink.

Also, for example, the recording head is a recording head that discharges ink using thermal energy,
It is characterized by having a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy given to the ink.

A carriage according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, by scanning a carriage mounted with a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements,
A carriage for use in an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on input recording data, wherein a measuring unit that measures the number of recording elements that are simultaneously driven at each drive timing based on the recording data; and A control means for controlling the power for image recording supplied to the recording head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings, based on the number of the recording heads. And the recording head.

A recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, by scanning a carriage mounted with a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements,
A recording head used in an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on input recording data, and a measuring unit that measures the number of recording elements that are simultaneously driven at each drive timing based on the recording data, Control means for controlling the power for image recording supplied to the recording head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings, based on the number.

An image recording apparatus control method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, by scanning a carriage on which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction is mounted on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements, an image is formed based on input recording data. A method for controlling an image recording apparatus that performs recording, comprising: a measurement step of measuring the number of the recording elements to be simultaneously driven at each drive timing based on the recording data; and Controlling the supplied power for image recording so as to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings.

A recording head control method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, by scanning a carriage on which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction is mounted on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements, an image is formed based on input recording data. A method of controlling a recording head used in an image recording apparatus that performs recording, based on the recording data, a measurement step of measuring the number of the recording elements to be simultaneously driven at each drive timing, and based on the number, A control step of controlling the power for image recording supplied to the recording head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings.

A computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, a computer-readable storage medium that is executed by a computer device connectable to a printer and stores processing steps for realizing a printer driver that drives the printer according to a default function via a bidirectional interface. A step corresponding to the contents described in Item 28 or 29 is included.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

However, in this embodiment, a serial type ink jet recording apparatus will be described as an image recording apparatus, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the described examples.

[Schematic Description of Apparatus Main Body] FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the configuration of an ink jet printer IJRA which is an ink jet recording apparatus according to a typical embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 10, the driving force transmission gears 5009 to 5011 are linked with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013.
The carriage HC, which engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the rotating lead screw 5005 via a pin, has a pin (not shown) and is supported by the guide rail 5003 and reciprocates in the directions of arrows a and b.

On the carriage HC, an integrated ink jet cartridge IJC having a recording head IJH and an ink tank IT is mounted.

Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper holding plate, which applies a platen 500 to the recording paper P in the moving direction of the carriage HC.
Press against 0.

Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photocouplers.
This is a home position detector for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this region and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013.

Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member for supporting a cap member 5022 for capping the front surface of the recording head IJH.
A suction unit 015 sucks the inside of the cap, and recovers the suction of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap.

Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade.
Reference numeral 019 denotes a member which enables the blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these members are supported by the main body support plate 5018. The blade is not limited to this embodiment,
It goes without saying that a well-known cleaning blade can also be applied to the present embodiment.

Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for recovery from suction, and a cam 5020 for engaging with the carriage.
The driving force from the driving motor is controlled by a known transmission mechanism such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired operations can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the area on the home position side. It is needless to say that the present example can be applied to any setting if the desired operation is set at the timing.

[Description of Control Structure] Next, a control structure for executing the printing control of the above-described ink jet printing apparatus will be described.

FIG. 11 shows an ink jet printer IJR.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit of FIG. 11, reference numeral 1700 denotes an interface for inputting a recording signal, 1701 denotes an MPU, and 1702 denotes
R storing a control program executed by MPU 1701
Reference numeral 1703 denotes a DR for storing various data (such as the recording signal and recording data supplied to the head).
AM.

Reference numeral 1704 denotes a gate array (GA) for controlling supply of print data to the print head IJH, and includes an interface 1700, an MPU 1701, and an R
Data transfer control between the AMs 1703 is also performed.

Reference numeral 1710 denotes a carrier motor for transporting the recording head IJH, and reference numeral 1709 denotes a transport motor for transporting the recording paper. Reference numeral 1705 denotes a head driver for driving the recording head, and 1706 and 1707 denote motor drivers for driving the transport motor 1709 and the carrier motor 1710, respectively.

The operation of the above-described control configuration will be described. When a print signal is input to the interface 1700, the print signal is converted into print print data between the gate array 1704 and the MPU 1701. Then, the motor drivers 1706 and 1707 are driven, and the recording head is driven according to the recording data sent to the head driver 1705 to perform recording.

Although the control program executed by the MPU 1701 is stored in the ROM 1702 here,
An erasable / writable storage medium such as an EEPROM may be further added so that the host computer connected to the inkjet printer IJRA can change the control program.

As described above, the ink tank IT and the recording head IJH may be integrally formed to form a replaceable ink cartridge IJC. However, the ink tank IT and the recording head IJH are separated. It may be configured so that only the ink tank IT can be replaced when the ink runs out.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing the structure of an ink cartridge IJC in which the ink tank and the head can be separated.

In the ink cartridge IJC, as shown in FIG. 12, the ink tank IT and the recording head IJH can be separated at the position of the boundary line K (black). When the ink cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC, the ink cartridge IJC is provided with an electrode (not shown) for receiving an electric signal supplied from the carriage HC, and the electric signal causes the recording head IJH to operate as described above. Is driven to eject ink.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 500 denotes an ink ejection port array. The ink tank IT is provided with a fibrous or porous ink absorber for holding ink.

FIG. 13 shows an example of an ink ejection port array. In the example of the ink ejection port array 500 in FIG. 13, the ink ejection port array is composed of 512 nozzles, and each nozzle is divided into 32 blocks each of 16 blocks shown in the first block to the 16th block and arranged. ing. In FIG. 13,
The nozzle arranged at the n-th position in the m-th block m will be referred to as nozzle mn. Therefore, in FIG.
The nozzle arranged at the first position of the first block indicated by is the nozzle 1-1.

In the above embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head are ink and the liquid stored in the ink tank is ink. It is not limited.

For example, a treatment liquid discharged to a recording medium in order to improve the fixability and water resistance of the recorded image or to improve the image quality may be stored in the ink tank. .

[Driving Voltage Fluctuation Suppression] Next, a method of printing a high quality image at high speed by suppressing the fluctuation of the driving voltage by using the above-described ink jet recording apparatus will be described in detail.

That is, in this embodiment, in order to suppress the fluctuation of the driving voltage, the control is performed so that the voltage drop generated at the common electrode or the like in the recording head is kept constant.

In the following description, a case where a recording head of one color is used will be described for convenience of explanation.

[First Control Method for Suppressing Fluctuation of Drive Voltage] [When Carriage Substrate and Print Head are Separated] Taking the wiring path shown in FIG. 3 as an example, the fluctuation of the driving voltage generated in this wiring path is suppressed. The control method performed will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a structure in which the carriage substrate 23 and the recording head 24 are separated from each other. The printer main substrate 21 is connected to the recording head 24 via the carriage substrate 23. The structure shown in FIG.
This is to prevent the temperature of the recording head 24 from rising due to the heat generated by the dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3.
Has a structure mounted on the carriage substrate 23.

The recording data 30 is stored in a personal computer (not shown).
Is transferred to the printer main board 21 through the printer I / F cable 20. The printer body substrate 21 has a CP
U26 and a gate array 27 are mounted, and the recording data 30 sent from the personal computer is
Is converted into ejection segment data 28 of the recording head 24 and transferred to the carriage substrate 23 via the FFC cable 22.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the carriage substrate 23 and the recording head 24 of the above-described ink jet recording apparatus.

The ejection segment data 28 shown in FIG.
Is serially transferred from the printer body substrate 21 to the recording head 24 by the DCLK signal and the IDATA signal. That is, the ejection segment data 28 is serially converted by the printer main board 21 and transferred to the 32-bit shift register 12 through the IDATA signal in synchronization with the DCLK signal.

Next, the 32-bit shift register 12
Is temporarily stored in the LTCLK
The signal is transferred to the 32-bit latch 11 at the timing of the signal,
The segment electrodes (SEG1-32) are controlled by two drivers (6-1 to 6-32).

On the other hand, a common electrode drive signal 29 for driving the common electrodes (COM1 to COM16) is also sent to the carriage substrate 23 via the FFC cable 22. That is, the common electrode selection signals BENB0 to BENB3 are selection signals for the common electrode, and HEAT is a drive pulse signal for giving a timing for actually driving the discharge heater.

The common electrode selection signals BENB0 to BENB3 are converted into 16 signals for directly selecting the common electrodes (COM1 to COM16) by the decoder 1 and then input to the NAND gates (2-1 to 2-16). You.

HEAT is connected to the other of NAND gate 2.
Signal, and the output of the NAND gate 2 is connected to the driver (3
-1 through 16) to control the segment electrodes (SEG1-32) of the recording head 24.

[Signal Timing Chart] FIG. 5 is a timing chart of the signals shown in FIG.

First, the common electrode 1 (COM1) is selected by the common electrode selection signals BENB0 to BENB3, and driven by the pulse waveform of the HEAT signal. At this time, the ejection segment data (IDATA1) corresponding to the common electrode 1 (COM1) is output to the output of the latch 11 for selecting the segment electrodes (SEG1-32).

In the section where the common electrode 1 (COM1) is selected, the data transferred by IDATA is the ejection segment data (IDATA2) corresponding to the next selected common electrode 2 (COM2). 2 (C
The ejection segment data (IDATA2) of OM2) is
Common electrode 2 (COM2) is selected and LTCL
It is latched by the latch 11 at the timing of K.

That is, the ejection segment data (IDA
TA) is a common electrode (COM1 to 16) actually driven.
Is transferred in the section immediately before the selection.

As described above, the recording data 30 from the personal computer (not shown) contains 16 common electrodes (CO
M1 to M16) and 32 segment electrodes (SEG1 to 3)
The selection signal is converted into the selection signal of 2), and the 512 ejection heaters are driven to eject ink droplets onto the recording paper to form a desired image.

[Reduction of Fluctuation of Driving Voltage] Next, a method of reducing the fluctuation of the driving voltage caused by the fluctuation of the number of nozzles simultaneously ejected from the ink ejection port array 500, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.

In FIG. 1, the ejection segment data (I
The output signal of the latch 11 in which the data (DATA) is stored is connected to the segment electrodes (SEGs 1 to 32) and also to the dummy resistor selection circuit 10 as described above.

The dummy resistance selection circuit 10 comprises a 32-bit input adder 13 and a comparator 14, as shown in FIG.

The adder 13 always counts the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles, which is an output signal of the latch 11 in which ejection segment data is stored, and outputs a calculated value in the range of 0 to 32 to the comparator 14. .

FIG. 7 is an input / output table showing the relationship between input / output signals of the comparator 14. The input value in FIG. 7 indicates the number of nozzles to be simultaneously ejected as described above, and three output bits 1, 2, and 3 correspond to the dummy resistors (8-1, 8-2,
8-3) is a signal indicating whether or not to drive. That is, when the value of the output bit is 1, it indicates that the respective dummy resistors (8-1, 8-2, 8-3) are driven, and when the value of the output bit is 0, the respective dummy resistors are driven. (8-1, 8-2, 8-3) is not driven.

In FIG. 7, when the input value (the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles) is 17 to 24 nozzles, the dummy resistance 8-1
At the time of 9-16 nozzles.
-3 is driven by each dummy resistor (8-
1, 8-2, and 8-3) at the same frequency as much as possible.

In this embodiment, the dummy resistors (8-1, 8)
-2, 8-3) are set to be 1/8 of the resistance value of the discharge heater. Therefore, driving any one of the dummy resistors (8-1, 8-2, 8-3) means that power corresponding to eight discharge heaters is consumed, as shown at 32 in FIG. I do.

Similarly, the dummy resistors (8-1, 8)
Driving any two of -2, 8-3) means that power corresponding to 16 discharge heaters is consumed by using a dummy resistor as shown at 33 in FIG. Driving all three (8-1, 8-2, 8-3) consumes the power corresponding to the 24 discharge heaters using the dummy resistors as indicated by 33 in FIG. Means to do.

That is, power corresponding to the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles (input value) in FIG. 7 is supplied to the common electrodes (COM1 to COM16) based on the above-described common electrode selection signals BENB0 to BENB3. The power corresponding to the discharge heaters 31 to 34 in FIG. 7 is consumed in accordance with the number of simultaneous discharge nozzles described above.

As a result, by using the dummy resistance selection circuit 10, the discharge heater of 25 to 32 nozzles is always provided on the wiring path of the print head regardless of the number of simultaneous discharge nozzles (input value) which fluctuates according to the input print data. Will always flow the same as when the.

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the dummy resistor (8-
The control method of 1, 8-2, 8-3) will be described.

In step S40, the output dots of the adder 13 and the comparator 14 are reset and initialized.

Next, in step S 41, the ejection segment data input from the 32-bit latch 12 is counted by the adder 13 and output to the comparator 14 as an input value.

Next, in step S42, the input value is determined. If the input value is 1 to 8, the process proceeds to step S43. If the input value is 9 to 16, the process proceeds to step S44, and the input value is 17 to In the case of 24, the process proceeds to step S45, and in the case where the input value is 25 to 32, the process proceeds to step S46.

In step S43, the input values are 1 to 8
In this case, the output bits 1, 2, and 3 are set to (1, 1, 1), a signal for driving all the dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3 is output, and the process proceeds to step S47.

In step S44, the input value is 9-1.
In the case of 6, the output bits of 1, 2, 3 are set to (0, 1, 1).
And outputs a signal for driving only the dummy resistors 8-2 and 8-3, and then proceeds to step S47.

In step S45, when the input value is 17 to
In the case of 24, the output bits of 1, 2, 3 are set to (1, 0,
0), and outputs a signal for driving only the dummy resistor 8-1, and then proceeds to step S 47.

In step S46, the input value is 25 to
In the case of 32, the output bits of 1, 2, 3 are set to (0, 0,
0) and outputs a signal that does not drive all of the dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3, and then proceeds to step S47.

In step S47, a series of operations ends.

By using the control method of the present embodiment described above, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the voltage drop which has conventionally been a problem when the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles largely changes. In the above description, a heater difference of 8 nozzles is generated between the 25 nozzles and the 32 nozzles. However, considering the current wiring resistance of the common electrode and the wiring path, such a voltage drop fluctuation does not pose a problem.

In this way, the drive selection signal for the dummy resistor is output from the dummy resistor selection circuit 10 and
One ends of the dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3 are driven through -1 to 9-3.

On the other hand, the other ends of the dummy resistors are combined into one and connected to one terminal of the recording head. This terminal is connected to diodes 7-1 to 7-16 in the recording head, and the other ends of the diodes 7-1 to 7-16 are connected to respective common electrodes (COM1 to COM16).

The diodes 7-1 to 7-16 are connected from the driven common electrode (COM) to the other common electrodes (CO).
M) to prevent the drive current from flowing back.
The current is supplied to the dummy resistor 8 by a selected common electrode (CO
M).

In order to minimize the voltage drop fluctuation, the anodes of the diodes 7-1 to 7-16 and the common electrode (COM)
1 to 16) should be located as close as possible to the portion where the common electrode is divided into heater wires (that is, the anodes of the diodes 4-1 to 4-16).

In this embodiment, the carriage substrate 23 is controlled so that the temperature of the recording head 24 does not rise due to the heat generated by the dummy resistor.
Are mounted with dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a capacitor 25 for a heater driving power supply is mounted on the carriage substrate 23 so as to suppress a voltage fluctuation in a wiring path to the carriage substrate 23.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the number of dummy resistors is three has been described.
The number of dummy resistors may be provided, and the resistance may be equal to the resistance of the discharge heater. In this case, the voltage drop fluctuation can be made substantially zero.

Although the present embodiment has been described using an example in which a single color recording head is applied for the sake of convenience, for example, in the case of a color head in which four YMCK colors are integrated, FIG. By adopting the structure described in FIGS. 5 to 8 and the like and applying the control method,
The same effect as described above for each color, that is, the fluctuation of the voltage drop, which has been a problem when the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles greatly fluctuates, can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the dummy resistance selection circuit 1
The adder 13 that counts the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles in 0 is performed in the carriage substrate 23. However, the adder 13 is configured in the printer body substrate, and only the drive bits of the dummy resistor are sent to the carriage substrate 23. However, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained.

As described above, in the image recording apparatus of this embodiment, upon receiving a print data signal, the number of ejection nozzles to be used is counted in accordance with the print data signal, and the dummy resistor is set in accordance with the number of ejection nozzles. Drive. As a result, a part of the power applied to the print head is consumed by the dummy resistor, so that a voltage equivalent to driving a fixed number of nozzles is always applied to the print head. Voltage fluctuation can be reduced.

[Control Method for Suppressing Fluctuation of Second Drive Voltage] In the following description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to those having the same structure as the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used. Since the items with “” are duplicated, their description is omitted here.

[Case where no carriage board is used] In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The case where the carriage substrate 23 is provided between the recording head 24 and the recording head 24 has been described by taking as an example a case where the carriage substrate 23 and the recording head 24 shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment, a case where the recording head 24 is directly connected to the printer main board 21 as shown in FIG. 4 will be described. In the second embodiment, a recording head 240 having the structure shown in FIG. 2 is used.

In FIG. 4, recording data 30 is transferred from a personal computer (not shown) to a printer main board 21 via a printer I / F cable 20. A CPU 26 and a gate array 27 are mounted on the printer main body board 21, and print data 30 sent from a personal computer is converted into ejection segment data 28 of the print head 24 by the printer main body board 21, and is converted via the FFC cable 22. Is transferred to the recording head 240.

The structure of the recording head 240 shown in FIG. 2 is integrated by taking the carriage substrate 23 described in the first embodiment into the recording head. For this reason,
As shown in FIG. 4, the present embodiment is characterized in that the carriage substrate 23 required in the first embodiment becomes unnecessary.

However, as can be seen by comparing FIGS. 1 and 2, since the recording head 240 has a structure in which the carriage substrate 23 and the recording head 24 described in the first embodiment are combined, the arrangement is slightly different. The basic configuration of the circuit is exactly the same except for the difference. Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the fluctuation of the voltage drop can be reduced by the same control method as described in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the dummy resistance selection circuit 1
Although the adder 13 that counts the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles within 0 is performed in the print head 240, the adder 13 is configured in the printer main body substrate, and only the drive bits of the dummy resistor are sent to the print head 240. However, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained.

As described above, by using the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the voltage drop which has conventionally been a problem when the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles largely fluctuates.

[Control Method for Suppressing Fluctuation of Third Drive Voltage] In the following description of the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to those having the same structure as the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used. Since the items with “” are duplicated, their description is omitted here.

[Case where Carriage Substrate and Recording Head are Separated] In the first embodiment, the case where the carriage substrate 23 and the recording head 24 shown in FIG. 1 are separated has been described as an example. The form is also a structure similar to the first embodiment.

That is, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the carriage substrate 2300 and the recording head 2400
Are separated from each other, and the dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-8
The dummy resistors 8-1 to 8-3 are connected to the carriage substrate 23 so that the temperature of the recording head 2400 does not rise due to the influence of the heat generation at −3.
00 is implemented.

As can be seen from a comparison between FIG. 1 and FIG. 9, the diodes 7-1 to 7-16 are arranged in the carriage substrate 2300 in the third embodiment, so that the recording head 2400 is moved to the first position. The structure can be simpler than in the embodiment.

However, the first embodiment is different from the third embodiment only in the arrangement of the diodes 7-1 to 7-16, and the basic configuration of the circuit is exactly the same. Therefore, also in the third embodiment, the fluctuation of the voltage drop can be reduced by the same control method as described in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the dummy resistance selection circuit 1
Although the adder 13 that counts the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles within 0 is performed in the carriage substrate 2300, the adder 13
It is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained by constructing in the printer body substrate and sending only the drive bits of the dummy resistor to the carriage substrate 2300.

As described above, by using this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the voltage drop which has conventionally been a problem when the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles largely changes.

In the above embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head are ink and the liquid stored in the ink tank is ink. It is not limited. For example, an ink tank may contain a processing liquid discharged to a recording medium in order to improve the fixability and water resistance of the recorded image or to improve the image quality.

The above-described embodiment is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection even in an ink jet recording system. By using a method in which a change in the state of the ink is caused by energy, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure 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 can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid.

By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. 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 the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US 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, The configurations described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose the configuration in which the heat acting surface is arranged in the bending region, are also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge section of an electrothermal transducer for a plurality of electrothermal transducers, and an opening for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy is discharged. A configuration based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to each unit, may be adopted.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition, not only the cartridge-type recording head in which the ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself described in the above-described embodiment but also the apparatus main body can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body. A replaceable chip-type recording head, which enables a simple connection and supply of ink from the apparatus main body, may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like to the configuration of the printing apparatus described above, since the printing operation can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof. It is also effective to provide a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection that is different from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a single recording head or a combination of plural recording heads. Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid. However, even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or lower, it is possible to use an ink that softens or liquefies at room temperature. Or, in the ink jet method, generally, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled 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.
It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, the temperature is positively prevented.
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, ink that solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by 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 is disclosed in JP-A-54-5
No. 6847 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-71260, in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portions or through holes of the porous sheet. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0129] In addition, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention may be configured as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer as an integral or separate unit.
It may take the form of a copying machine combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

As described above, by using the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the voltage drop which has conventionally been a problem when the number of simultaneous ejection nozzles largely fluctuates. 1) Ink is stable and the image quality is improved for any print image. 2) It is possible to increase the print speed. 3) The durability of the discharge heater is improved. 4) The system Can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[0131]

[Other Embodiments] The present invention relates to a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader,
Printer, etc.)
The present invention may be applied to a device including one device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile device, etc.). Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus to store the storage medium. By reading and executing the program code stored in
It goes without saying that this is achieved.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowchart (shown in FIG. 8).

[0137]

As described above, according to the present invention, a recording head, a carriage, an image recording apparatus using the same, and a recording head capable of printing a high-quality image at a high speed by suppressing the fluctuation of the driving voltage of the recording head. A control method can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a carriage substrate and a print head according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a carriage substrate and a print head according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart in the first, second, and third embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a dummy resistance selection circuit.

FIG. 7 is an input / output diagram illustrating an input / output relationship of a comparator.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the dummy resistance selection circuit.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a carriage substrate and a print head according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view illustrating an outline of a configuration of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 11 is an overall block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view illustrating an outline of a configuration of an ink cartridge.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ink ejection port of a recording head.

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of a conventional recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Decoder 2 NAND gate 3 Driver 4 Diode 5 Discharge heater 6 Driver 7 Diode 8 Dummy resistor 9 Driver 10 Dummy resistor selection circuit 11 Latch 12 Shift register 20 Printer cable 21 Printer main board 22 FFC cable 23 Carriage board 24 Recording head 25 Capacitor

Claims (30)

[Claims] 1. A print head having a plurality of print elements arranged in a predetermined direction is scanned on a print medium in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print elements are arranged. An image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on the recording data, based on the recording data, measuring means for simultaneously measuring the number of the recording elements to be driven at each drive timing, and based on the number, the recording head Control means for controlling the supplied image recording power to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings. 2. An image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means has a plurality of power consuming means for consuming power. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means has the same power consumption of said plurality of power consumption means. 4. An image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said power consuming means includes a dummy resistor. 5. An image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means has a driving means for selectively driving said power consuming means. 6. The control means further includes a classification means for classifying the numbers into groups, and the driving means selectively drives the power consuming means in accordance with the groups to keep the power constant. The image recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the value is within the range. 7. The image recording method according to claim 1, wherein color recording using different inks is possible, and said recording head prepared for each of said different inks is provided with said measuring means and said control means, respectively. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: 8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording head is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink. 9. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1. 10. A print head having a plurality of print elements arranged in a predetermined direction is scanned by a carriage on a print medium in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the print elements. A carriage for use in an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on the recording data, based on the recording data, a measuring unit that measures the number of the recording elements that are simultaneously driven at each drive timing; A control unit that controls the power for image recording supplied to the recording head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings, and the recording head separated from the substrate; A carriage comprising: 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means has a plurality of power consuming means for consuming power.
The carriage according to 0. 12. A carriage according to claim 11, wherein said control means has the same power consumption of said plurality of power consumption means. 13. A carriage according to claim 11, wherein said power consuming means includes a dummy resistor. 14. The carriage according to claim 11, wherein said control means has a driving means for selectively driving said power consuming means. 15. The control unit further includes a classifying unit for classifying the number into a group, and the driving unit selectively drives the power consuming unit according to the group to keep the power constant. The carriage according to claim 14, wherein: 16. The image recording method according to claim 1, wherein color recording using different inks is possible, and said recording head prepared for each of said different inks is provided with said measuring means and said control means, respectively. Claim 1.
The carriage according to any one of claims 0 to 15. 17. The carriage according to claim 10, wherein the recording head is an ink jet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink. 18. A recording head for ejecting ink using thermal energy, wherein the recording head includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Claims 10 to 1
7. The carriage according to any one of 6. 19. A print head having a plurality of print elements arranged in a predetermined direction is scanned on a print medium in a direction intersecting the direction in which the print elements are arranged. A recording head used for an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on the recording data, based on the recording data, a measuring unit that measures the number of the recording elements that are simultaneously driven at each drive timing, based on the number, Control means for controlling the power for image recording supplied to the print head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings. 20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means has a plurality of power consuming means for consuming power.
10. The recording head according to item 9. 21. A recording head according to claim 20, wherein said control means has the same power consumption of said plurality of power consuming means. 22. A recording head used in an image recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said power consuming means includes a dummy resistor. 23. A recording head according to claim 20, wherein said control means has a driving means for selectively driving said power consuming means. 24. The control unit further includes a classifying unit for classifying the numbers into groups, and the driving unit selectively drives the power consuming unit according to the group, thereby keeping the power constant. 24. The recording head according to claim 23, wherein: 25. The image recording method according to claim 1, wherein color recording using different inks is possible, and said recording head prepared for each of said different inks is provided with said measuring means and said control means, respectively. Claim 1.
The recording head according to any one of claims 9 to 24. 26. A recording head according to claim 19, wherein said recording head is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink. 27. A recording head for discharging ink by using thermal energy, said recording head comprising a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Claims 19 to 2
6. The recording head according to any one of 5. 28. A print head having a plurality of print elements arrayed in a predetermined direction is scanned on a print medium in a direction intersecting the array direction of the print elements, so that input print data is obtained. A control method of an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on the recording data, based on the recording data, a measuring step of measuring the number of the recording elements to be simultaneously driven at each drive timing; and A control step of controlling the power for image recording supplied to the recording head to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings. 29. A print head having a plurality of print elements arrayed in a predetermined direction is scanned on a print medium in a direction intersecting the array direction of the print elements, so that input print data is obtained. A method for controlling a recording head used in an image recording apparatus that performs image recording based on the number of the recording elements to be simultaneously driven at each drive timing based on the recording data. Controlling the power for image recording supplied to the printhead to be within a certain range for each of the drive timings based on the control information. 30. A computer-readable storage medium that is executed by a computer device connectable to a printer and stores processing steps for realizing a printer driver that drives the printer according to a default function via a bidirectional interface. Claim 28 or Claim 2
10. A computer-readable storage medium comprising steps corresponding to the contents described in 9.