JP2003072079A - Recorder and temperature control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder and a temperature control method in which the power consumption is reduced, an ink discharge amount irregularity is reduced regardless of a bias of used nozzles in an ink jet recording head, and images without density irregularities are formed. SOLUTION: In recording with the use of a full line ink jet recording head where a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal conversion bodies are arranged, the width of a recording medium is detected, and it is so set in accordance with the detected result that a first driving signal is applied to a first part corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements, so as to discharge ink from the recording elements according to recording data or a second driving signal in a level whereby ink is not discharged is applied to the first part, and no driving signal is applied to a second part corresponding to the outside of the recording medium. The ink jet recording head is driven in accordance with the setting when recording data is inputted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a temperature control method, and more particularly to a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium using an inkjet recording head and a temperature control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Corresponding to image data, a drive signal is applied to an electrothermal converter in a nozzle provided in an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) to eject fine ink droplets and In a printing apparatus that prints characters and images on a printing medium such as, printing is not always performed using all nozzles provided in the printing head depending on the image data. For example, you can print by ejecting ink using nozzles on only one half of the recording head,
In some cases, only part of the printhead nozzles are used.

When the nozzles provided in the print head are not used uniformly and there is a bias in the use, the temperature distribution in the print head is also biased, and when printing is performed in this state, the printing is performed. Partial density unevenness occurs in the image. Such uneven temperature distribution in the print head is more likely to occur as the number of nozzles increases. This phenomenon is a serious problem because color balance is lost and a change in tint and a decrease in color reproducibility are caused especially when a color image is recorded using inks such as cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Becomes

In order to solve this problem, the conventional ink jet recording apparatus is driven to such an extent that ink droplets are not ejected even to the electrothermal converters of nozzles (hereinafter also referred to as non-recording nozzles) that do not cause recording By applying a signal (hereinafter also referred to as short pulse driving), the temperature distribution in the print head is prevented from being biased regardless of the bias of the nozzles used in the print head.

By such control, it is possible to reduce the variation in the ink ejection amount and to record an image without density unevenness.

[0006]

However, in the temperature adjusting method by the short pulse drive for reducing the density unevenness according to the above-mentioned conventional example, the drive pulse is applied to all the electrothermal transducers of the non-printing nozzles of the ink jet recording head. In addition, the power consumption increases.

In particular, a full line recording head composed of a plurality of nozzles corresponding to the width of the recording medium is fixed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium, and the recording medium is conveyed directly below the full line recording head. At that time, in a recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink from a full-line recording head onto a recording medium, a drive pulse is also applied to a nozzle group that does not correspond to the recording medium depending on the width of the recording medium. It will be.

In such a case, when recording is always performed by using a recording medium having a width shorter than the recording width of the full-line recording head, the nozzle groups not used for the recording do not differ in the width of the recording medium used. As long as it is not a nozzle used for recording. Therefore, even if the nozzle groups that are not used for recording and the nozzle groups that are used for recording are uneven in temperature, uneven density does not occur in the recorded image.

Furthermore, it is rare that recording media having different widths (for example, business cards and postcards) are alternately used. Therefore, it is useless to apply the drive pulse to the nozzle group which is not used for printing as in the conventional case from the viewpoint of power consumption.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and reduces the power consumption, reduces the variation in the ink discharge amount regardless of the deviation of the nozzles used in the ink jet recording head, and has no density unevenness. An object is to provide a recording apparatus and a temperature control method for forming an image.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention has the following constitution.

That is, a recording apparatus for recording by using an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than the width of a recording medium, According to the detection means for detecting the width of the recording medium, the input means for inputting, the recording data in the first portion of the plurality of recording elements corresponding to the width of the recording medium according to the detection result by the detecting means. According to the above, the first drive signal for ejecting ink from the recording element or the second drive signal for not ejecting ink is applied, and what is applied to the second portion corresponding to the outside of the recording medium. Based on the recording data input by the inputting means, the inkjet recording head is set in accordance with the setting by the setting means. A recording apparatus characterized by having a drive means for driving the.

Here, the ink jet recording head is provided with a heater for adjusting temperature separately from the plurality of recording elements, and when the recording operation is completed, the heater is driven to make the temperature of the ink jet recording head uniform. It is desirable to adjust.

Further, it has a discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the recording medium is exchanged with a recording medium having a different width, and the setting means has a range of the first portion and the second range according to the discrimination result. It is desirable to change the range of the parts.

Further, according to the result of the determination by the determination means, when the width of the exchanged recording medium is wider than the original recording medium, the preliminary ejection for controlling the preliminary ejection from the ink jet recording head is performed. It is desirable to have control means.

This preliminary ejection control means (1) when the recording operation is completed and the recording medium is replaced with a wider recording medium.
Control is performed so that preliminary ejection is performed from all recording elements of the inkjet recording head, (2) preliminary ejection is performed from recording elements corresponding to the width of the recording medium, or (3) replacement is performed. It is preferable to perform control so that preliminary ejection is performed from a recording element that has not been used before the replacement among the recording elements corresponding to the width of the recording medium.

Alternatively, when it is determined that the recording medium has been replaced with a wider recording medium, when the recording operation is completed,
It is desirable to further include control means for controlling to apply the second drive signal to the recording element of the inkjet recording head.

This control means includes (1) all recording elements of the ink jet recording head, (2) recording elements corresponding to the second portion, or (3) recording elements corresponding to the width of the exchanged recording medium. It is preferable to control so that the second drive signal is applied to the recording element that has not been used before the replacement.

The pulse width of the second drive signal to the extent that ink is not ejected is shorter than the pulse width of the first drive signal applied to eject ink from the recording element.

Further, the detecting means may be a sensor provided in the conveying path of the recording medium, but the recording medium is based on the record data inputted by the input means and the incidental information inputted. The width of may be detected.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for recording by using an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than that of a recording medium. A temperature control method, which corresponds to a width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements according to an input step of inputting recording data, a detecting step of detecting a width of the recording medium, and a detection result in the detecting step. First to do
A first drive signal for ejecting ink from the recording element or a second drive signal for not ejecting ink according to the recording data, and
The inkjet process is performed according to the setting in the setting process based on the setting process in which no driving signal is applied to the second portion corresponding to the outside of the recording medium and the recording data input in the input process. And a driving step of driving the recording head.

According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for recording using a recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged, the detecting means detecting the width of a recording medium, and the detection result by the detecting means. According to the above, setting means for setting to apply a drive signal to the portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements so that recording is performed by the recording element according to the recording data, and determination by the determination means. According to the result, there is provided means for changing a range of a portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements by the setting means.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when recording is performed using an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than the width of the recording medium. The print data is input, the width of the print medium is detected, and according to the detection result, the first portion of the plurality of print elements of the inkjet print head corresponding to the width of the print medium is printed according to the print data from the print element. Apply a first drive signal to eject ink or a second drive signal to the extent that ink is not ejected, and apply no drive signal to the second portion outside the recording medium. When the print data is input with no application applied, the inkjet print head is driven according to the setting.

Further, the present invention is a recording apparatus for recording using a recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged, wherein the width of a recording medium is detected, and among the plurality of recording elements, according to the detection result, A portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium is set to apply a drive signal so that recording is performed by a recording element according to the recording data, and the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements is determined according to the determination result. Change the range of the part corresponding to.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Common Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink jet recording apparatus which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer periphery of the ink jet recording apparatus 101 is openable and closable in which a feeder tray 102 for stacking recording media, a full line recording head (described later), and a recording medium conveying section are housed. Top cover 1
03, an openable / closable front cover 104 accommodating a tank for storing liquid ink to be supplied to a full-line recording head described later, a power switch unit 105, an operation panel 106 for setting an operating environment, recorded It is composed of a stacker 107, etc., on which the recording media of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the ink jet recording apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the transport unit U located below the full line recording head H, the recording medium Pa loaded on the feeder tray 102 is directed toward the recording position by the full line recording head H. Is conveyed at a constant speed and reaches its recording position, each of the six heads Bk, C, LC, M and L that compose the full line recording head.
Ink is ejected from M and Y, and an image is recorded on the recording medium. After that, the recording medium Pa on which the image is formed is carried out onto the stacker 107.

Below the transport unit U, each head Bk,
A tank portion R that stores the dedicated ink supplied to C, LC, M, LM, and Y is detachably fixed. The feeder unit F is provided with a recording medium detection width sensor 609 for detecting the width of the loaded recording medium Pa, and a recording medium having a width different from that of the recording medium on which recording is performed is loaded on the feeder unit F. , Has a function of prompting the user to replace the correct recording medium.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for schematically explaining the arrangement of the full line recording head.

The ink jet recording apparatus 101 is equipped with a full line recording head H in which a plurality of recording elements are linearly arranged, and the full line recording head H includes six heads Bk, C, LC, M, LM and Y. It is configured. As shown in FIG. 3, these heads are arranged in parallel with each other in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction. Specifically, a head Bk that ejects black ink to perform recording, a head C that ejects cyan ink to perform recording, and a light cyan ink are ejected in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium. A head LC for recording, a head M for ejecting and recording magenta ink, a head LM for ejecting and recording light magenta ink, and a head Y for ejecting and ejecting yellow ink are provided.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a full line recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head).

The above-mentioned six heads used in this embodiment have the same structure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle wall 40
Nozzles 406 that are respectively partitioned by 3 are formed, and the nozzles 406 are provided with electrothermal converters (heaters) 404 corresponding to the respective nozzles. The electrothermal converter 404 is formed on the silicon substrate 401 by a method similar to a semiconductor process, and by applying a predetermined electric energy by a head drive circuit described later,
Bubbles are generated in the ink in the nozzle due to heat, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle opening 402.
Reference numeral 405 denotes a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the nozzles 406, and 407 denotes a top plate.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the temperature of the recording head and the optical reflection density (OD value) of the recorded image.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the density of the recorded image formed on the recording medium changes in proportion to the temperature of the recording head.

The print head of this embodiment is provided with a temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the print head and a heat retention heater (sub-heater (not shown)) for adjusting the temperature of the print head. . Then, the temperature of the print head is detected except during the printing operation, and if the temperature is 30 ° C. or lower, a current is passed through the sub-heater, and when the temperature is 32 ° C. or higher, the current is cut off to make the temperature uniform over the entire print head. Make the amount of ink droplets ejected from the nozzle uniform,
An image with no uneven density is formed.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the host computer 600 and the ink jet recording apparatus 101 of this embodiment.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 denotes a main controller for controlling the entire ink jet recording apparatus.
Alternatively, it includes a ROM 601a storing a control program corresponding to the control flow shown in FIG. 10, a RAM 601b used as a work area for executing the control program, and a CPU 601c of a processing unit executing the control program. A main controller 601 controls a memory for storing input data from a host computer (hereinafter referred to as a host) 600, a data control for recording,
Also, control is performed according to various setting instructions from the operation panel 106. The main controller 601 is connected to the host 600 via an interface and exchanges signals with each other. Further, the main controller 601 has an image memory 602 which stores data input from the host.
Are connected.

Further, in FIG. 6, reference numeral 603 is a head drive circuit for driving the heating element 404 incorporated in each of the above-mentioned six heads, 604 is a feed motor provided in the recording medium transport section U, and 604D is a feed motor. 60
A recovery motor 60 is provided in a recovery mechanism 512 for performing suction / discharge of the ink with increased viscosity existing in the print head.
Reference numerals 5 and 605D denote motor drivers that drive the recovery system motor 605. The head controller 603, the motor driver 604D, and the motor driver 605D are all controlled by the main controller 601.

An image buffer memory 606 expands the image data transmitted from the host 600 and stores it as bit map data, and temporarily stores the image data recorded by black ink corresponding to the six heads. An image buffer 606Bk, an image buffer 606C that temporarily stores image data recorded with cyan ink, an image buffer 606LC that temporarily stores image data recorded with light cyan ink, and image data recorded with magenta ink. An image buffer 606M for temporarily storing, an image buffer 606LM for temporarily storing image data recorded with light magenta ink, and an image buffer 60 for temporarily storing image data recorded with yellow ink. Consisting of Y. Then, these image buffers are controlled by the driver controller 607.

A sensor circuit 610 processes the output from a recording medium width detection sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a sensor) 609 for detecting the width of the recording medium Pa loaded on the feeder unit F, and outputs it to the main controller 601. input. A sub-heater 612 warms the heads under the control of the main controller in order to maintain the heads at a predetermined temperature. A temperature sensor 613 senses the temperature of each head and sends it to the main controller.

In the above configuration, the image processing is performed based on the image data transmitted from the host 600, the bitmap data corresponding to each ink is stored in each of the six image buffer memories 606, and the image data for one sheet is stored. When completed, the recording media Pa loaded on the feeder unit F are successively conveyed at a constant speed toward the recording position by the full line recording head H by the number of sheets instructed to be transmitted from the host 600. When the conveyed recording medium Pa reaches the recording position, the driver controller 607 connected to the main controller 601 controls the head drive circuit 603 according to the bit map data corresponding to each ink color stored in the image buffer memory 606. Then, an image is formed. Further, the process of receiving the image data from the host 600 and storing the bitmap data in the image buffer memory 606 is performed in parallel with the process of conveying the recording medium and recording the image, so that different images are continuously recorded. It becomes possible to do.

Several embodiments of the temperature control method for the full-line recording head will be described with the ink jet recording apparatus having the above-described structure as a common embodiment.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the temperature control procedure of the full-line recording head according to the first embodiment. The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to this flowchart.

First, in step S101, the processing unit CPU
The sensor 609 reads the width of the recording medium loaded on the feeder unit F by the 601c, and the memory RAM6
The width information of the medium is stored in a predetermined area 01b, and the following settings are made to the driver controller 607 which controls the head drive circuit 603 in step S102.

For a nozzle having print data, a print signal is input to the electrothermal converter in the nozzle corresponding to the print data.

In the nozzle group corresponding to the width of the recording medium detected by the sensor 609, a drive pulse having a short width that does not eject an ink droplet is applied to a nozzle having no recording data (short). Pulse drive).

Further, no drive pulse is applied to the nozzle group which does not correspond to the width of the recording medium which exceeds the width of the recording medium detected by the sensor 609.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are diagrams showing the relationship between recording media having different widths and nozzle groups to which no drive pulse is applied.

For example, when the recordable range of the recording medium is shorter than the recordable width of the full-line recording head (drawing area in FIG. 8) as in the case where the recording medium is a business card as shown in FIG. Nozzle group 80 that does not correspond to business card width
No drive pulse is applied to No. 2 and some drive pulse is applied to the nozzle group 801 corresponding to the width of the recording medium.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, when the relationship between the recordable width of the full-line recording head and the recordable range of the recording medium is different from that shown in FIG. 8, for example, when the recording medium is a postcard. Is a nozzle group 9 that does not correspond to the postcard width
No drive pulse is applied to 02.

In step S103, recording is performed on the specified number of recording media based on the specified number of recording data stored in the memory RAM. Then, after the recording, in step S104, the CPU 601 of the processing unit
The sub-heater SH of the recording head is driven by c to adjust the temperature based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor. This eliminates the temperature deviation in the print head and prepares for the next print operation. The temperature control of the sub-heater may be performed before recording.

When recording is always repeated on a recording medium having the same width, the nozzle group not used for recording is not used for recording unless replaced with a recording medium having a different width, and the nozzle group not used for recording is used. Even if there is a bias in the temperature between the nozzle group used for printing and the temperature used for printing, density unevenness does not occur in the printed image. By changing the range of the nozzles that perform pulse driving, it is possible to avoid applying drive pulses to nozzles for which temperature adjustment is unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to reduce the power consumption associated with the recording operation.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a temperature control procedure of a full line recording head according to the second embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the same steps as those already described with reference to FIG. 7 are designated by the same step reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The operation will be described.

After the processing of steps S101 to S103,
Whether or not the recording medium set in the feeder unit F has been exchanged is checked with reference to the width information of the recording medium stored in the memory RAM. Here, every time the recording medium is replaced,
The previous width information of the recording medium and the current width information of the recording medium are stored. If there is no such exchange, the process ends, but if there is an exchange, the process proceeds to step S103b.

In step S103b, it is checked from the width information stored in the memory whether or not the width of the recording medium used in the feeder unit F is wider than the width of the previous recording medium. Here, if the width of the replaced recording medium is wider than the width of the previous recording medium, the process proceeds to step S103c, and preliminary ejection from all nozzles of the full-line recording head H is performed. This eliminates the temperature deviation in the print head and prepares for the next print. It should be noted that the nozzle group that performs the preliminary ejection may be only the nozzles corresponding to the width of the recording medium set in the feeder unit F, or may be the nozzles that are not used in the previous recording and used in this recording. Is also good. On the other hand, if the width of the exchanged recording medium is less than or equal to the width of the previous recording medium, the process ends.

Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, when the recording medium is replaced with a wider one after the recording is completed on the specified number of recording media, all nozzles or some nozzles of the recording head are By performing the preliminary ejection from above, the temperature in the recording head can be made uniform within a short time. By thus performing the control for eliminating the temperature deviation of the recording head after recording, it is possible to continuously perform high-quality recording without causing density unevenness in a recorded image.

In the second embodiment described above,
When the recording medium is replaced with a wider one after recording on the specified number of recording media, the preliminary ejection was controlled, but ink droplets were not ejected to all nozzles of the recording head. By applying the drive pulse of (3) for a certain period (short pulse drive), it is possible to eliminate the temperature deviation in the recording head and prepare for the next recording. At this time, the nozzle group targeted for the short pulse drive may be only the nozzles corresponding to the width of the recording medium set in the feeder unit F, or may be used in this recording instead of being used in the previous recording. Only the nozzle may be used.

As described above, the short pulse drive is performed only for the nozzle group corresponding to the width of the recording medium, and after the recording on the designated number of recording media is completed, the recording medium is widened. When replaced, the temperature in the print head can be made uniform within a short time by driving the short pulse again for all nozzles or some nozzles of the print head. As a result, it is possible to continuously perform high-quality recording without causing density unevenness in the recorded image.

In the embodiment described above, the width of the recording medium is detected by the recording medium width detecting sensor provided in the feeder unit F, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the width of the recording medium may be recognized from the size information data of the recording medium transmitted from the host.

In the above embodiments, the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head have been described as ink, and the liquid contained in the ink tank has been described as ink. However, the content is limited to ink. It is not something that will be done. For example, to improve the fixability and water resistance of recorded images,
A treatment liquid such as a treatment liquid ejected onto the recording medium in order to improve the image quality may be contained in the ink tank.

In the above embodiment, particularly in the ink jet recording system, a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink is provided, High density and high definition recording can be achieved by using a method of causing a change in ink state by energy.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. Since the electrothermal converter is caused to generate heat energy to cause film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to the drive signal in a one-to-one relationship can be formed. It is valid. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal has a pulse shape, the growth and contraction of the bubbles are immediately and appropriately performed, so that it is possible to achieve the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness, 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. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the straight liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the heat-acting surface is arranged in a bending region. In addition, for multiple electrothermal converters,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670, which discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-63, which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is associated with the discharge portion. A configuration based on Japanese Patent No. 138461 may be used.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording medium width that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used.

In addition to the cartridge type recording head in which the ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself described in the above embodiment, the recording head is electrically attached to the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. A replaceable chip-type recording head that enables various connections and supply of ink from the apparatus main body may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary means, etc. to the structure of the recording apparatus described above, because the recording operation can be made more stable. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means, electrothermal converters or heating elements other than these, or preheating means by a combination thereof. Further, provision of a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from recording is also effective for stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors.

In the above-described embodiments, the explanation is made on the premise that the ink is a liquid, but even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or below, one that softens or liquefies at room temperature is used. Or, in the inkjet method, it is general that the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range.
It suffices 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 from being used as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent the ink from evaporating, an ink that solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, by applying heat energy, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is retained as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. 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, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to one provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further transmission / reception It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a function.

Even when the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a device including one device (for example, a copying machine or a facsimile device). Etc.)

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to supply a computer of the system or apparatus ( Alternatively, by the CPU or MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium,
It goes without saying that it will be achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also based on the instruction of the program code,
An operating system (OS) running on the computer does some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the processing includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code. , The CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the processing includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

In the above example, the program processing is described. However, the program processing may be processed by hardware.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention, recording is performed using an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than the width of the recording medium. When performing the recording, the recording data is input, the width of the recording medium is detected, and according to the detection result, the first portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements of the inkjet recording head is recorded. According to the data, the first drive signal for ejecting ink from the recording element or the second drive signal for not ejecting ink is applied, and the second portion corresponding to the outside of the recording medium is applied. When the print data is input by setting so that no drive signal is applied, the inkjet print head is driven according to the setting, so Drive signal to the recording element which does not use even not applied, since only applies the drive signal to the minimum required recording elements in the recording operation, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce power consumption.

Further, since the second drive signal to the extent that the ink is not ejected is applied to the print element in the range corresponding to the width of the print medium, even to the print element that ejects ink and does not perform printing. A certain amount of heating is performed to eliminate the temperature unevenness between the print elements caused by the variation in ink ejection depending on the print data, and as a result, it is possible to perform high-quality printing without density unevenness.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an inkjet recording apparatus that is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an arrangement of full line recording heads.

FIG. 4 is an internal structural diagram of a full line recording head.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the temperature of the recording head and the optical reflection density (OD value) of a recorded image.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a temperature control process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the width of a business card and a nozzle group to which no drive pulse is applied.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between a postcard width and a nozzle group to which no drive pulse is applied.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a temperature control process according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 inkjet recording apparatus 102 feeder tray 103 top cover 104 front cover 105 power switch 106 Operation panel 107 Stacker tray F feeder unit U transport unit R tank section Pa recording medium H full line recording head Bk Black ink head C Cyan ink head LC Light cyan ink head Head for magenta ink LM Light magenta ink head Y Yellow ink head 600 host computer 601 Main controller 602 image memory 603 head drive circuit 604 Feed motor 604D motor driver 605 Recovery motor 605D motor driver 606 image buffer memory 609 Recording medium width detection sensor 801, 901 Nozzle group corresponding to recording medium width 802, 902 Nozzle group that does not correspond to recording medium width

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EA06 EA25 EA28 EB07 EB13                       EB30 EB46 EC07 EC24 EC29                       EC54 FA03 FA13                 2C057 AF23 AF54 AF71 AK01 AL21                       AM16 AM21 AM40 AN05 BA03                       BA13

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for performing recording using an inkjet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than the width of a recording medium, wherein recording data is recorded. The input means for inputting, the detecting means for detecting the width of the recording medium, and the recording data in the first portion of the plurality of recording elements corresponding to the width of the recording medium according to the detection result by the detecting means. According to the above, the first drive signal for ejecting ink from the recording element or the second drive signal for not ejecting ink is applied, and what is applied to the second portion corresponding to the outside of the recording medium. Setting means for setting so as not to apply the drive signal, and the inkjet recording head according to the setting by the setting means based on the recording data input by the input means. Recording apparatus characterized by having a drive means for driving. 2. The ink jet recording head is provided with a heater for adjusting temperature separately from the plurality of recording elements, and when the recording operation is completed, the heater is driven to uniformly regulate the temperature of the ink jet recording head. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determining unit that determines whether or not the recording medium has been replaced with a recording medium having a different width. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the setting unit changes the range of the first portion and the range of the second portion according to a determination result by the determining unit. . 5. According to the discrimination result by the discrimination means,
4. A pre-ejection control unit that controls to perform pre-ejection from the inkjet recording head when the width of the exchanged recording medium is wider than the original width of the recording medium. The recording device according to 1. 6. The preliminary ejection control means controls the preliminary ejection from all the recording elements of the inkjet recording head when the recording operation is completed and the recording medium is replaced with a wider recording medium. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein
The recording device according to 1. 7. The pre-ejection control means controls the pre-ejection from a recording element corresponding to the width of the recording medium when the recording operation is completed and the recording medium is replaced with a wider recording medium. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: 8. When the recording operation is completed and the recording medium is replaced with a recording medium having a wider width, the preliminary ejection control means is used before the replacement among the recording elements corresponding to the width of the replaced recording medium. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording element is controlled so as to perform the preliminary ejection from the recording element that has not been recorded. 9. When the discriminating means discriminates that the recording medium has been replaced with a wider recording medium, when the recording operation is completed, the second drive signal is supplied to the recording element of the ink jet recording head. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising control means for controlling the application. 10. The control unit selects all the recording elements of the inkjet recording head, the recording elements corresponding to the second portion, or the recording elements corresponding to the width of the exchanged recording medium. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recording device is controlled to apply the second drive signal to a recording element that has not been used before the replacement. 11. The pulse width of the second drive signal to the extent that the ink is not ejected is shorter than the pulse width of the first drive signal applied to eject the ink from the recording element. Item 2. The recording device according to item 1. 12. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means is a sensor provided in a conveying path of the recording medium.
The recording device according to 1. 13. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the width of the recording medium based on the additional data input together with the recording data input by the input unit. . 14. A temperature control method for a recording apparatus, wherein recording is performed using an inkjet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements including electrothermal transducers are arranged so as to have a recording width longer than the width of a recording medium. An input step of inputting recording data, a detecting step of detecting the width of the recording medium, and a first part of the plurality of recording elements corresponding to the width of the recording medium according to the detection result in the detecting step. Applies a first drive signal so as to eject ink from a recording element or a second drive signal that does not eject ink according to the recording data, and a second drive signal corresponding to the outside of the recording medium. The setting step of setting so that no drive signal is applied to the portion, and the input according to the setting in the setting step based on the recording data input in the input step Temperature control method characterized in that it comprises a drive step for driving the jet printhead. 15. A recording apparatus for performing recording using a recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged, the detecting means detecting a width of a recording medium, and the plurality of recordings according to a detection result of the detecting means. Of the elements, a setting means for setting a drive signal to be applied by the recording element in accordance with the recording data to a portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium, and the setting means according to the determination result by the determining means. And a means for changing a range of a portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements. 16. The recording apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not the recording medium has been replaced with a recording medium having a different width. 17. The recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the recording head includes an inkjet recording head. 18. The inkjet recording head comprises:
The temperature adjusting heater is provided separately from the plurality of recording elements, and the heater is driven to adjust the temperature of the inkjet recording head after the recording operation is completed. Recording device. 19. A method of controlling a recording apparatus for performing recording using a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged, the method comprising: detecting a width of a recording medium; Of the recording elements, the step of setting a drive signal to be applied to the portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium so as to perform recording by the recording element according to the recording data, and the setting according to the determination result of the determining step. A step of changing a range of a portion corresponding to the width of the recording medium among the plurality of recording elements according to the step.