JP2005205718A - Method for manufacturing inkjet recording head, inkjet recording device and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the incidence of "twist" or "streak" generations in a recording image and enhance the image quality of the recorded image with a few number of passes. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head, information such as data on a paper feed during multi-pass printing, a combination of nozzles or the results of measuring an impact position is written to a memory element mounted on an inkjet recording head, and control is executed to reduce "twist" or "streak" in the recording image during multi-pass printing and thereby enhance the image quality of the recording image with a few number of passes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head, a recording apparatus, and a recording method.

  With the widespread use of information processing devices such as copying machines, word processors, computers, and communication devices, recording devices that output information from these devices rapidly perform image recording using an inkjet recording head. Is popular. In addition, with the increase in quality and color of visual information in the information processing equipment and communication equipment, there is an increasing demand for higher image quality and color in recording apparatuses.

  In order to respond to such demands, the recording apparatus has a recording element array in which a plurality of recording elements are integrated in order to cope with miniaturization of recording pixels, etc., and the ink discharge ports and the liquid paths are arranged at high density. In order to cope with colorization, a plurality of recording heads, for example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are generally provided.

In recent years, the demand for high gradation color printing has increased due to the spread of the Internet and digital cameras, and the performance of ink jet printers is being improved accordingly. As a means of obtaining high-definition and high-gradation high-quality print images,
(1) The arrangement interval of the ejection ports for ejecting ink is narrowed to improve the resolution. (2) The ratio of the colorant contained in the specific color ink, that is, the density of the colorant is different. A plurality of print heads for ejecting at least two color inks are prepared, and gradation is improved by selectively overprinting ink and light ink as necessary (3) From the ejection port There are known methods such as improving the gradation by changing the size of the ejected ink droplet, that is, the amount of ink.

  In a so-called bubble jet (registered trademark) type printer that uses thermal energy as ejection energy for ejecting ink from the ejection port of the print head, generates bubbles in the ink, and uses the foaming pressure at that time, Since the method (3) described above is relatively difficult, the methods (1) and (2) are considered to be particularly effective.

  However, if the method (2) is to be realized, two or more print heads are required for the specific color ink, which increases the cost. Therefore, in the bubble jet (registered trademark) printer, the arrangement interval of the ejection ports is narrowed as in (1), and the size of each ink droplet ejected from each ejection port is reduced (for example, 10 picoliters or less). ) To improve the resolution is the most desirable and simple method because it hardly increases the manufacturing cost.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing high-quality recording in these inkjet recording heads. This method is generally called a multipass recording method. In this method, each image area is scanned a plurality of times by a recording head, and a plurality of ink droplets ejected from different recording elements are landed in the same pixel area to form ink dots, and the number of ink droplets is appropriately set. In combination, the gradation of the pixel is expressed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-358847

  However, the following problems also occur in the conventional example as described above.

  The ink ejected from the recording head may deviate from a predetermined landing position due to the non-uniformity of the shape of the ejection port of the recording head and the surface state of the ejection surface. This phenomenon is usually referred to as “twist”, but when ink dots formed using the same printing element appear periodically, especially when printing over a certain area with the same gradation value, ”Is recognized as a so-called“ streaks ”having periodicity, which causes deterioration in image quality.

  In order to reduce the influence of this “swing”, the above-described multi-pass recording method or the like is used. For example, the number of passes in multi-pass recording is increased to change or disperse the “swing” periodicity. ing. However, if the number of passes in multi-pass recording is increased, more recording time is required, and a method of effectively reducing “streaks” with a small number of passes is desired.

  Also, if the allowable range of the landing position deviation due to the “swing” is made very narrow, it becomes possible to improve the image quality with few multi-passes, but such an ink jet head with high accuracy is manufactured. This causes a problem that the yield of the head deteriorates.

  In the ink jet recording system, the recording head is provided with a plurality of ink discharge nozzles in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and discharges ink at a right angle to the recording medium surface. However, there is no problem if the ink ejection directions from all the nozzles are the same, but in reality, there may be a deviation in the ink ejection direction from each nozzle. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the ink should be ejected in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow, but actually there is a nozzle that ejects the ink in the direction indicated by the solid arrow. In this case, if the distance between the ink ejection surface 50a of the recording head 50 and the recording medium 51 is D1, the original ink landing point P and the actual ink landing point Q are shifted by a distance L1. Due to this shift, the image quality is deteriorated and the recording quality is lowered. The deviation increases in proportion to the distance between the ink ejection surface 50a and the recording medium 51 (when the distance is D2) (distance L2).

  In addition to the deviation in the ink ejection direction from the nozzles, there may be a difference in the ink ejection speed. For example, ink droplets ejected from the nozzles are large, main droplets, satellites, and microdots, but the ejection speeds of these ink droplets are different. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, when the discharge speed is V1, and when V2 (V1 <V2), the combination with the moving speed component VH of the recording head 50 results in a solid arrow in the case of the discharge speed V1. In the direction shown, in the case of the discharge speed V2, the direction is indicated by a broken-line arrow, and the discharge direction is different. The deviation increases in proportion to the distance between the ink discharge surface 50a and the recording medium 51.

  Therefore, in order to improve the recording quality in the ink jet recording apparatus, it is effective to reduce the distance between the ink ejection surface and the recording medium as much as possible, but there are the following problems.

  That is, in the ink jet recording system, a phenomenon called cockling occurs because an ink liquid is discharged and soaked into a recording medium such as paper. This is a phenomenon in which, when ink enters between fibers such as paper, the portion expands and is distorted, and the recording medium undulates.

  If the distance between the ink discharge surface and the recording medium is too small for this cockling, the recording medium will come into contact with the ink discharge surface, and the recording surface will be soiled, or paper dust will adhere to the ink discharge port, resulting in poor ink discharge. There are problems such as

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and reduces the occurrence of “twist” and “streaks” in a recorded image in multi-pass printing, and improves the image quality of the recorded image with a small number of passes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, a recording apparatus, and a recording method.

  Another object of the present invention is to improve the yield rate of an inkjet head used in an inkjet head recording apparatus that performs a multi-pass printing method.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
Discharging ink toward the recording medium while scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles relative to the recording medium;
In a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus in which a plurality of different nozzles run on the same dot line on a recording medium and record each line by a plurality of scans,
A measurement step of measuring the landing position of the ink ejected from each nozzle;
A table creating step of preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of combinations of different nozzles corresponding to the paper feed amount of the inkjet recording apparatus executed for each of the plurality of scanning times;
Based on the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined in the landing position measurement step and the nozzle combination table, the total amount of deflection (hereinafter defined as “integrated”) for each line is counted, and the plurality of nozzles A counting step for performing a calculation for integrating the amount of deflection of the combination of nozzles according to the number of scans;
Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, the maximum value is determined from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line, and the amount of accumulated amount of the twist is determined from among the plurality of paper feed amount combination patterns of the table. A table determination step for determining a nozzle combination table by comparing the maximum values of
The method includes a step of writing information including at least one of the landing position measuring step, the landing position counting step, and the table determining step into a memory element mounted on the ink jet recording head.

  In more detail, the present invention can solve the above problems by the following configuration.

  (1) Ink jets having a plurality of nozzles are ejected toward a recording medium while being scanned relative to the recording medium, and a plurality of different nozzles cause the same dot line on the recording medium in a plurality of scans. In a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus that records each line by traveling on a line, a measurement step for measuring the landing position of ink ejected from each nozzle and the number of times of scanning are performed. A table creation step of preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of different nozzle combinations corresponding to the paper feed amount of the inkjet recording apparatus, and the amount of wobbling of each nozzle determined in the landing position measurement step, Based on the nozzle combination table, the total sum of the amount of deflection for each line (hereinafter referred to as “integration”) Definition), and a counting step for calculating a sum of the amount of nozzle combinations according to the number of scans of the plurality of nozzles, and the nozzle combination table and the counting result, and A table determining step for determining a maximum value from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line, and determining a nozzle combination table by comparing the maximum values of the amount of accumulated deflection from the plurality of tables; An ink jet recording head manufacturing method comprising: writing information including at least one of the landing position measuring step, the landing position counting step, and the table determining step into a memory element mounted on the head.

  (2) In the table determining step, a maximum value is determined from the accumulated amount of the deflection amount for each line in each table, and the maximum value of the accumulated amount of the deflection is minimized from the plurality of tables. (1) The inkjet recording manufacturing method according to (1), wherein the combination table is determined.

  (3) The inkjet head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. 2) The manufacturing method of the inkjet recording head of description.

  (4) Reading means for reading the determined nozzle combination table information of the head according to any one of (1), (2), and (3), and the plurality of scans based on a result of the reading means An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a paper feed control means for controlling a paper feed amount in the printer.

  (5) Reading means for reading information relating to the landing position of the head according to any one of (1), (2), and (3); based on the result of the reading means; A counting means for performing a calculation for integrating the amount of nozzle combination according to the number of scans of the nozzle, and an integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result A table determining means for determining a combination table of nozzles by determining a maximum value from among the plurality of tables and comparing the maximum value of the accumulated amount of shaking from the plurality of tables, and controlling a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a paper feed control means for performing the operation.

  (6) The table determining means determines the maximum value from the accumulated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the nozzle that minimizes the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount from the plurality of tables. The inkjet recording apparatus according to (5), wherein the combination table is determined.

  (7) Ink jets having a plurality of nozzles are ejected toward the recording medium while being scanned relative to the recording medium, and a plurality of different nozzles in the plurality of scans form the same dot line on the recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus that travels and records each line, a measuring unit that measures a landing position of ink ejected from each nozzle, and a paper feed amount of the inkjet recording apparatus that is executed for each of the plurality of scanning times Corresponding table creation means for preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of different nozzle combinations, the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined by the landing position measurement means, and each line based on the nozzle combination table Count the total sum of the amount of deflection (hereinafter referred to as “integration”), and the number of scans of the plurality of nozzles Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, the maximum value is determined from the accumulated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result. A table determining unit that determines a combination table of nozzles by comparing the maximum value of the accumulated amount of shaking from the plurality of tables, and a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans based on a result of the determining unit. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising paper feed control means for controlling

  (8) The table determining means determines a maximum value from the accumulated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the nozzle that minimizes the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount from the plurality of tables. The combination table is determined, and the inkjet recording apparatus according to (7).

  (9) The inkjet head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. 8) The ink jet recording apparatus as described above.

  (10) Ink jets having a plurality of nozzles are ejected toward the recording medium while being scanned relative to the recording medium, and a plurality of different nozzles in the plurality of scans form the same dot line on the recording medium. In the ink jet recording method for running and recording each line, a measuring step for measuring the landing position of the ink ejected from each nozzle, and a paper feed amount of the ink jet recording apparatus executed for each of the plurality of scanning times, Based on the table creation step of preparing a corresponding nozzle combination table including a plurality of different nozzle combinations, the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined by the landing position measuring means, and each nozzle line based on the nozzle combination table The total amount of kinks (hereinafter referred to as “integration”) is counted for each scan, and the scanning times of the plurality of nozzles A step of calculating the total amount of nozzle combinations according to the number of nozzles, and based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, the maximum value is calculated from the total amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table. A table determining step for determining a nozzle combination table by comparing the maximum value of the accumulated cumulative amount from the plurality of tables, and paper feeding in the plurality of scans based on a result of the determining unit An ink jet recording method comprising a paper feed control step for controlling the amount.

  (11) The table determining step determines a maximum value from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the nozzle that minimizes the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount from the plurality of tables. The inkjet recording method according to (10), wherein the combination table is determined.

  (12) The inkjet head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. 11) The inkjet recording method described in the above.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the paper feed amount data, the combination of nozzles, or the information on the measurement result of the landing position is written in the memory element mounted on the ink jet recording head. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of “twist” and “streaks” in the recorded image in multi-pass printing, and improve the image quality of the recorded image with a small number of passes. In addition, since multi-pass printing can be performed with a combination of nozzles having the least “warping” according to individual differences between the heads, it is possible to reduce variations in image quality among the ink jet recording heads.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the occurrence of “twist” and “streaks” can be reduced according to the present invention even for a head that becomes defective with a conventional nozzle combination, and the manufacturing yield of the inkjet head can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 9A is an external perspective view of the recording head cartridge showing the basic form of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9A, a recording head cartridge 11 that is detachably mounted on an unillustrated inkjet recording apparatus and reciprocally scans in the X direction has a plurality of ejection ports 16 that eject ink. An ink jet recording head 516 having a recording element substrate 12 is provided. The recording head cartridge 11 is detachably mounted with an ink tank (not shown) for supplying ink to the recording element substrate 12. The recording head cartridge 11 of this embodiment shows an example in which six ink tanks that store six colors of ink can be mounted. The six ink colors stored in the ink tank may be a color ink that is a color other than black and a black ink.

  The electrical wiring tape 31 applies an electrical signal for ejecting ink to the recording element substrate 12, and corresponds to an opening for incorporating the recording element substrate 12 and an electrode portion of the recording element substrate 12. An element substrate electrode terminal and an external signal input terminal 32 for receiving an electrical signal from the main body device are provided, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) 33 is mounted on the back surface thereof. The EEPROM 33 is a ROM that can electrically erase stored data, and the data stored therein is retained even when the power of the apparatus itself is turned off. In this embodiment, the data will be described later. The rank and the like of the landing position information of each nozzle of the recording element substrate 12 are stored.

  Note that the EEPROM 33 is an electrical contact board in which the external signal input terminal 32a is electrically connected to the electrical wiring tape 31a separately from the electrical wiring tape 31a, like the recording head cartridge 11a shown in FIG. 9B. In the case of the configuration provided in 30, it may be provided on the back surface of the electrical contact substrate 30.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a wiring pattern layer of the electrical contact substrate, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a wiring pattern layer of a layer different from FIG. The EEPROM 33 is electrically connected to the portion shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, four external signal input terminals 32 a of CS, SK, DO, and DI are provided on the electrical contact substrate 30 for input / output of the EEPROM 33.

  As described above, the EEPROM 33 may be mounted on either the recording head cartridge shown in FIG. 9A or FIG. 9B, but the following explanation is shown in FIG. A description will be given using the recording head cartridge 11 shown.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic partially cutaway perspective view of a recording element substrate that is provided in the recording head shown in FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the recording element substrate 12 taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a perspective plane in the vicinity of the electrothermal transducer 14 viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the recording element substrate 12 is formed of, for example, a Si substrate 19 having a thickness of 0.625 mm. In addition, ink supply ports 15 each having a long groove-like through-hole for supplying ink are formed, and electrothermal conversion elements 14 are arranged in a staggered pattern in one row on each side of each ink supply port 15. In FIG. 12, only the ink supply port 15 and the electrothermal conversion element 14 corresponding to one of the six colors are shown.

  The electrothermal conversion element 14 and electric wiring such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal conversion element 14 are formed by a film forming technique. A bump made of Au or the like is provided on an electrode portion (not shown) for supplying power to the electrical wiring. The ink supply port 15 performs anisotropic etching using the crystal orientation of the Si substrate 19. When the wafer surface has a crystal orientation of <100> and a thickness direction of <111>, the etching proceeds by alkali-based (KOH, TMAH, humanradine, etc.) anisotropic etching. Using this method, etching is performed to a desired depth. Alternatively, the ink supply port 15 may be formed by the AE-POLY method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-181032. In the case of this AE-POLY method, the ink supply port 15 can be formed with high accuracy, which is preferable.

  On the Si substrate 19, an ink channel wall 20 for forming the ink channel 13 corresponding to the electrothermal conversion element 14, an ejection port 16 that contributes to ink ejection, and a dummy ejection port that does not contribute to ink ejection 17 is formed by a photolithography technique, and constitutes the above-described 12 rows of ejection port rows corresponding to the six colors of ink.

  A desired number of electrothermal conversion elements 14 are arranged on the Si substrate 19. Such electrothermal conversion element 14 gives the ink liquid ejection energy for ejecting recording liquid droplets, and recording is performed. That is, when the electrothermal conversion element 14 heats the nearby recording liquid, a state change is caused in the recording liquid and discharge energy is generated. Further, for example, instead of the electrothermal transducer 14, ejection energy may be generated by mechanical vibration of the piezoelectric element.

  128 ejection ports 16 used for ejecting ink and performing recording are formed in one row. The shape of the discharge port 16 may be any shape other than the shape shown in FIG.

  The electrothermal conversion elements 14 are provided in a straight line with a pitch of 600 DPI so as to face the discharge ports 16, and 256 colors are provided with a pitch of 1200 DPI for one color. Then, the ink supplied from the ink supply port 15 is caused to generate bubbles by the electrothermal conversion element 14 and the ink is discharged from the discharge port 16 to perform recording on a recording medium such as recording paper.

  Note that the recording element substrate 12 of the present embodiment may have a configuration in which bubbles formed on the electrothermal conversion element 14 are communicated with the atmosphere via the discharge ports 16 when ink is ejected.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, each ink flow path 13 is partitioned by an ink flow path wall 20, but in this embodiment, the ink flow path wall 20 extends to the ink supply port end 15a. In other words, the distance from the ink supply port end 15a to the ink flow path wall end 20a is a distance a. Further, the width of the ink supply port 15 of the present embodiment in the short direction is 100 μm, the flow path height L in the ink flow path 13 is 25 μm, and the size of the electrothermal conversion element 14 is 24 μm × 24 μm.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, a configuration is shown in which the distance from the ink supply port end portion 15a to the ink flow path wall end portion 20a is a distance a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be zero, that is, the ink channel wall end 20a may extend to the ink supply port end 15a.

  The manufacturing process of the above-described ink jet recording head is shown in FIG.

  First, the step of measuring the landing position of ink ejected from the nozzles of the ink jet head (step 101) will be described.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram in which the ink has completely landed at an ideal position, and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the landing position of the ink droplet ejected from the actual head. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which an “pattern” of all 256 nozzles from seg 1 to 256 is landed in a state where the image pattern as shown in FIG. The ideal lattice spacing is 1200 DPI pitch. In FIG. 3A, Seg1-1 is the landing position of the first event of seg1, and Seg1-2 is the landing position of the ink of the second event. The landing measurement process is performed a plurality of times for one nozzle in accordance with the number of repetitions of the image pattern, and the variation for each event can also be calculated. Next, FIG. 3B will be described in detail. Segs 2-1 and 2 show a state where the actual ideal position is deviated by +5 μm in both the X and Y directions. Similarly, Seg 3-1 and 2 are +5 μm in the X direction, Seg 5-1 and 2 are −5 μm in the X direction, Seg 6-1 and 2 are −5 μm in the Y direction, Seg 9-1 and 2 are −10 μm in the X direction, +10 μm in the Y direction, Seg10-1,2 is −5 μm in the X direction, +5 μm in the Y direction, Seg11-1,2 are −5 μm in the X direction, Seg13-1,2 are +5 μm in the X direction, +10 μm in the Y direction, Seg14-1 and 2 are in a state of being shifted by 10 μm in the X direction and −5 μm in the Y direction.

  FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the landing measurement process. An image processing camera (for example, a CCD) 403 for observing a droplet landed on the recording medium 405 and recognizing the image is disposed above the recording medium 405, and the brightness can be adjusted by the illumination device 404. It has a configuration. In addition, a control box 407 for controlling adjustment and driving of the XY stage 406, an image processing control unit 402 for monitoring landing droplets and performing image processing on these, and each of these control units are controlled. A CPU 401 having a function of feeding back various measured and calculated data to the recording head manufacturing process is provided.

  With the apparatus as described above, the landing position of each nozzle for each color can be measured. Next, an explanation of the definition of the “integral amount of deflection”, which is an important feature of the present invention, will be given in detail with reference to the following examples.

  First, in the head example of FIG. 3B, a four-pass multi-pass recording method as shown in FIG. 6 is shown.

  In the case of the recording method of FIG. 6, an image for each predetermined area A, B,... On the recording medium is completed by four recording scans of the recording head cartridge 11. That is, a recording operation in which the recording head cartridge 11 moves in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow X and ejects ink droplets, and the recording medium is indicated by a distance of 1/4 (64 nozzles) of the recording width of the recording head cartridge 11. The carrying operation for carrying in the Y sub-scanning direction is repeated alternately. In FIG. 6, the recording head cartridge 11 is shown to move in the direction opposite to the arrow Y by the conveyance of the recording medium to the recording head cartridge 11 in the sub-scanning direction. In the area A, the first (seg 193, 194, 195,..., 256), second (seg 129, 130, 131,..., 192) and third (seg 65, 66, 67,. ) And the fourth recording scan (seg 1, 2, 3,..., 64). Similarly, in the area B, the second (seg 129, 130, 131,..., 192) of the recording head cartridge 11 is recorded. , Third (seg 65, 66, 67,..., 128), fourth (seg 1, 2, 3,..., 64), and fifth printing scan (seg 193, 194, 195,..., 256). It will be. In this way, the image for each of the areas A, B,... Is completed by four recording scans of the recording head cartridge 11. In such first, second, third, and fourth recording scans, an image is recorded based on the recording data thinned out using the mutually complementary mask patterns. Then, an image for each of the areas A, B,... Is completed by the recorded images at the time of the four recording scans. In this case, the multi-pass paper feed amount is 64 nozzles uniform feed.

  Next, we define the amount of accumulation. The total amount of twist refers to the total sum of the amounts of warp for each line in the above-described multiple scans in which different nozzles travel on the same dot line on the recording medium.

  In the case of the above example, since an image of one line is four passes, an image is formed by a combination of four nozzles. That is, for 64 lines, 64 of (seg 1, 65, 129, 193), (seg 2, 66, 130, 194), (seg 3, 67, 131, 195), ..., (seg 64, 128, 192, 256). An image is composed of a combination of nozzle groups as shown above. The accumulated amount of deflection is the total sum of the amounts of deflection of these four nozzles.

  In other words, the accumulated amount in the X direction is the sum of the amount of landing in each X direction (seg 1, 65, 129, 193), and is accumulated by adding in the + direction and subtracting in the-direction. Similarly, the amount of accumulation in the Y direction is integrated taking into account the positive and negative directions. As described above, the 64 accumulated amounts in the X and Y directions can be similarly calculated for the third line, the fourth line,..., The 64th line.

  By the way, when printing is actually performed by the ink jet recording apparatus, it is convenient to use a table that represents the correlation between the determined combination data of the selected nozzles and the paper feed amount during multi-pass.

  The combination information of the recording nozzles can be stored in a memory device with a predetermined capacity because the number of combinations increases enormously as the ink type, the number of recording nozzles, and the number of passes in multi-pass recording increase. Thus, it is actually desirable to store a limited number of combinations.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of a table actually created (step 102). If the paper feed amount is too far apart for each pass, the multi-pass effect is weakened. Therefore, it is sufficient to consider the number of tables shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5A, the table number and the paper feed amount in each pass are a table. The combination of nozzles selected corresponding to each paper feed amount is in a one-to-one correspondence as shown in FIG. As a table structure, there is a separate table of combinations of paper feed amount and selected nozzle, which is a hierarchical structure table.

  In this embodiment, 256 nozzles and the number of multipasses are four. The six ink colors used are Bk, LC, LM, C, M, and Y. LC is 1/6 density C ink, and LM is 1/6 density M ink. As a result of intensive studies by the inventor, it has been found that colors having an influence of “twist” and “streaks” in the image are LC and LM. In addition, there was almost no difference in the landing variation in the X direction within the 256 nozzles, and the “twist” and “streaks” in the image were caused by the landing variation in the Y direction.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG. 1 shows a case where an optimum paper feed amount and a corresponding nozzle combination are determined in multi-pass based on the measurement result of the landing point in the Y direction of the LC and LM chips. This will be described with reference to such a flowchart.

  First, in step S101, the landing position is measured. In this embodiment, the amount of deflection in the Y direction is measured for the above-described reason.

  Next, in step S102, a combination table corresponding to the paper feed amount in multi-pass and each pass of a plurality of nozzles selected is created. In this embodiment, since there are four paths, an example as shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S103, the Y amount of the nozzle combination for each pass is integrated with reference to the table in S102.

  Next, in step S104, it is checked whether or not the accumulated amount has been calculated for all the combinations of nozzles in the table of S102. If all the calculations have been completed, the process proceeds to the next step S105. Return to S103.

  In the next step S105, the maximum value of the accumulated amount is determined from the combination of nozzles corresponding to the paper feed amount in each table number.

  Next, in step S106, the maximum value of the accumulated amount of skew in each table number is compared to determine the paper feed amount during multipass and the corresponding nozzle combination table.

  Finally, in step S107, the determined nozzle combination information is written into the EEPROM.

  According to the inventor's examination, in the head of this embodiment, when the maximum value of the accumulated amount in step S105 is about 40 μm or more, “streaks” and “unevenness” of an image tend to be noticeable in 4-pass multi-pass printing. found. Therefore, the combination of the table number 9 or 13 in FIG. 5A is a combination in which the accumulated amount in the Y direction is 30 μm, and the combination in the table number 11 is the accumulated amount in the Y direction is 35 μm. The combination of the nozzles used in the table numbers 9 and 13 is referred to the schematic diagram as shown in FIG. 5C. When the paper feed is after 66 nozzle feeds, (1.63.1129.191), (2 64.130.192) (66.128.194.256) is filled with 4 multipaths. On the other hand, when the paper feed is after 62 nozzles, 62 lines of (1.67.129.195), (2.68.130.196),. Fill with. The table numbers 9 and 13 have the same combination of nozzles, and the images obtained by the ink jet recording apparatus are the same. Therefore, the table numbers mounted on the actual ink jet recording apparatus are 1 to 1, as shown in FIG. 11 will be sufficient.

  On the other hand, in the case of table number 11, the paper feed is equivalent to 64 nozzles in each pass (64.129.193), (2.66.130.194)... (64.128.192.256). Is filled with 4 multipaths.

  In the present embodiment, the table number 9 in the case of uniform paper feed 64 nozzles is determined in step 106. In this embodiment, in order to simplify the paper feed control mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus, the table number 9 for the paper feed amount of the uniform nozzle is selected, but the table number 9 or 13 may be selected.

  Next, the multipass use nozzle combination data determined in step 106 is written in the EEPROM 33. (Step 107) The data to be written may be the table number in FIG. 5B, or the paper feed amount data, the nozzle combination, or the landing position measurement at the time of multi-pass of the ink jet recording apparatus. It may be a result.

  Based on the measurement result of the landing position of the ink droplet ejected from each ejection port 17 as described above, by writing the determined combination data information of the nozzles at the time of multipass in the EEPROM 33, the inkjet recording apparatus For example, even when the recording head cartridge 11 is replaced, it is possible to grasp the individual difference in the droplet landing position of the recording head cartridge 11 and set the multi-pass paper feed amount according to the recording head cartridge 11. Problems such as variations in image quality among the head cartridges 11 can be solved.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The head used is the same as in Example 1, but the four ink colors used are Bk, C, M, and Y. The C and M chips are composed of 5 pl, 2 pl, and one chip of large and small, respectively, and enable printing with rich gradation.

  In the case of the present embodiment, an apparatus (not shown) for measuring the landing position in an inkjet recording apparatus (FIG. 6) equipped with an inkjet recording head as shown in FIG. 9B, and an apparatus for counting the measurement result of the landing position ( (Not shown), and a device (not shown) for controlling the paper feed amount during multi-pass scanning based on the result is included.

  As a method for detecting the amount of landing position deviation (flickering amount) for each color of the recording head, for example, a control unit for recording a test image such as a predetermined patch or pattern by the recording head, and an optical sensor for the test image Can be configured to include a reading unit for reading, a calculation unit that estimates and evaluates the amount of streaks for each color of the recording head based on the reading result, and an EEPROM that stores the calculation result.

  In the case of the present embodiment, for example, a scanner M6000 having a configuration as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B can be used as the test image reading unit. The scanner M6000 is mounted on the carriage M4001 instead of the recording head cartridge 11, and the test image can be read by moving the scanner M6000 in the main scanning direction together with the carriage M4001. Alternatively, an optical scanner may be attached on the recording paper conveyance path in the recording apparatus, and the pattern immediately after recording may be read and analyzed by the scanner. Further, it may be a multi-function printer provided with image reading means having a scanner optical system on the ink jet recording apparatus main body.

  In this embodiment, 256 nozzles and the number of multi-passes are four. As a result of intensive studies by the inventor, it has been found that the colors that are affected by “twist” and “streaks” in the image are 2 pl of C and M. In addition, there was almost no difference in the landing variation in the X direction within the 256 nozzles, and the “twist” and “streaks” in the image were caused by the landing variation in the Y direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the combination of multi-pass use nozzles is determined based on the measurement result of the landing point in the Y direction of the C and M 2pl chips.

  A flowchart of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

  First, in step S201, a landing position measurement pattern is printed. A user selects an image pattern built in the main body as shown in FIG. As a result, a landing pattern as shown in FIG. 3B is recorded on the recording medium. The recording medium is preferably a coated paper with a low ink bleeding rate.

  In step S202, the landing position is measured. The printed landing position measurement pattern is read by a scanner using image reading means, and the landing position of the ink head is measured. In this embodiment, only the landing position in the Y direction is measured from the above viewpoint.

  In step S203, a combination table corresponding to the paper feed amount during multi-pass and each pass of a plurality of selected nozzles is created. In this embodiment, since there are four paths, an example as shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S204, referring to the table in S102, the Y amount of the nozzle combination for each pass is integrated.

  Next, in step S205, it is checked whether or not the accumulated amount has been calculated for all nozzle combinations in the table of S203. If all the calculations have been completed, the process proceeds to the next step S205, and if not completed, Return to S203.

  In the next step S206, the maximum value of the accumulated amount is determined from the nozzle combinations corresponding to the paper feed amount in each table number.

  Next, in step S207, the multi-pass paper feed amount and the corresponding nozzle combination table in which the twist accumulation amount is minimized are determined from the maximum value of the skew accumulation amount in each table number.

  Finally, in step S208, multi-pass printing is performed using a combination of paper feed and nozzles based on the determined table.

  In the head of this embodiment, when S207 is determined, the combination of the used nozzles of table numbers 9 and 13 in FIG. 5A is 66 nozzles with reference to the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 5C. After sending, 66 lines of (1.63.1129.191), (2.64.0130.192)... (66.128.194.256) are filled with four multipaths. On the other hand, when the paper feed is after 62 nozzles, 62 lines of (1.67.129.195), (2.68.130.196),. Fill with. The table numbers 9 and 13 have the same nozzle combination, and the images obtained by the ink jet recording apparatus are the same. Therefore, the table numbers mounted on the actual ink jet recording apparatus are 1 to 1, as shown in FIG. 11 will be sufficient.

  As described above, the landing positions of the ink droplets discharged from the discharge ports 17 are measured by the measuring device in the ink jet recording apparatus, and based on the result of the landing information, the paper feed amount at the time of multi-pass is determined in the printer. In this case, even when the recording head cartridge 11 is replaced, for example, even when the recording head cartridge 11 is replaced, the ink jet recording apparatus grasps individual differences in the landing positions of the droplets of the recording head cartridge 11. Then, since the multi-pass paper feed amount can be set according to the recording head cartridge 11, problems such as variations in image quality among the recording head cartridges 11 can be solved. Further, in the case of this embodiment, even when the landing position of the head changes with time due to dust or the like, the landing position of the head is measured each time, and the total amount of deflection for each line of each pass in multi-pass printing. Since the paper feed amount can be reset by the paper feed control device in the printer, it is possible to always maintain a good image quality even if the landing position of the head changes.

It is a flowchart explaining the inkjet head manufacturing method which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure which determines the paper feed amount information of the inkjet printer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where ink has completely landed at an ideal position. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an actual landing position of ink. It is a system configuration | structure figure of the hardware of the impact measurement process which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a table showing a correlation between data of a combination of selected nozzles determined in the present embodiment and a paper feed amount during multi-pass. 6 is a table showing a correlation between data of a combination of selected nozzles determined in the present embodiment and a paper feed amount during multi-pass. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a correlation between data of a selected combination of selected nozzles and a paper feed amount during multi-pass in the present embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the conventional multipass recording system. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the inkjet recording device of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views showing the scanner cartridge upside down in order to show the configuration of the scanner cartridge that can be mounted on the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention instead of the recording head cartridge of FIG. . 1 is an external perspective view of an example of an inkjet recording head in an embodiment of the present invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of another example of the inkjet recording head in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the wiring pattern layer of an electrical contact substrate. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a wiring pattern layer different from the wiring pattern layer shown in FIG. 10 of the electrical contact substrate. FIG. 9B is a partially broken perspective view of a recording element substrate provided in the ink jet recording head shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the recording element substrate taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a perspective plan view of the vicinity of the electrothermal conversion element as seen from the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 12. It is explanatory drawing when the ink discharge direction from a nozzle is not the same. It is explanatory drawing in case an ink discharge speed differs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Ink discharge pressure generating element 11, 11a Recording head cartridge 12 Recording element substrate 13 Ink flow path 14 Electrothermal conversion element 15 Ink supply port 15a Ink supply port end 16 Discharge port 19 Si substrate 20 Ink flow channel wall 20a Ink Flow path wall end 30, 30a Electrical contact substrate 31, 31a Electrical wiring tape 32, 32a External signal input terminal 33 EEPROM

Claims (12)

Discharging ink toward the recording medium while scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles relative to the recording medium;
In a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus in which a plurality of different nozzles run on the same dot line on a recording medium and record each line by a plurality of scans,
A measurement step of measuring the landing position of the ink ejected from each nozzle;
A table creating step of preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of combinations of different nozzles corresponding to the paper feed amount of the inkjet recording apparatus executed for each of the plurality of scanning times;
Based on the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined in the landing position measurement step and the nozzle combination table, the total amount of deflection (hereinafter defined as “integrated”) for each line is counted, and the plurality of nozzles A counting step for performing a calculation for integrating the amount of deflection of the combination of nozzles according to the number of scans;
Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, a maximum value is determined from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount of the twist is compared among the plurality of tables. A table determining step for determining a nozzle combination table;
An ink jet recording head comprising: a step of writing information including at least one of the landing position measuring step, the landing position counting step, and the table determining step into a memory element mounted on the ink jet recording head. Production method.   In the table determining step, a maximum value is determined from the accumulated amount of the deflection amount for each line in each table, and the nozzle combination table that minimizes the maximum value of the accumulated amount of deflection from the plurality of tables. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording according to claim 1, wherein:   3. The ink jet recording according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Manufacturing method of the head. Reading means for reading the determined nozzle combination table information of the head according to claim 1,
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a paper feed control unit that controls a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans based on a result of the reading unit. Reading means for reading information relating to the landing position of the head according to claim 1,
Based on the result of the reading means,
The table creation means;
A counting means for performing a calculation for accumulating the amount of combination of the nozzles according to the number of scans of the plurality of nozzles;
Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, a maximum value is determined from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount of the twist is compared among the plurality of tables. Table determining means for determining a nozzle combination table;
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a paper feed control means for controlling a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans.   The table determining means determines a maximum value from the accumulated amount of the deflection amount for each line in each table, and a combination table of nozzles that minimizes the maximum value of the accumulated amount from the plurality of tables. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: Discharging ink toward the recording medium while scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles relative to the recording medium;
In an ink jet recording apparatus in which a plurality of different nozzles runs on the same dot line on a recording medium and records each line in a plurality of scans,
Measuring means for measuring the landing position of the ink ejected from each nozzle;
A table creating means for preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of combinations of a plurality of different nozzles corresponding to the paper feed amount of the ink jet recording apparatus executed for each of the plurality of scanning times;
Based on the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined by the landing position measuring means and the nozzle combination table, the total amount of deflection (hereinafter defined as “integration”) for each line is counted, and the plurality of nozzles are counted. A counting means for performing a calculation for accumulating the amount of deflection of the combination of nozzles according to the number of scans;
Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, a maximum value is determined from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount of the twist is compared among the plurality of tables. Table determining means for determining a nozzle combination table;
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a paper feed control unit that controls a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans based on a result of the determination unit.   The table determining means determines a maximum value from the accumulated amount of the deflection amount for each line in each table, and a nozzle combination table that minimizes the maximum value of the accumulated amount of deflection from the plurality of tables. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:   9. The ink jet recording according to claim 7, wherein the ink jet head is a head that discharges ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. apparatus. Discharging ink toward the recording medium while scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles relative to the recording medium;
In an inkjet recording method in which a plurality of different nozzles travels on the same dot line on a recording medium and records each line in a plurality of scans,
A measurement step of measuring the landing position of the ink ejected from each nozzle;
A table creating step of preparing a nozzle combination table including a plurality of combinations of different nozzles corresponding to the paper feed amount of the inkjet recording apparatus executed for each of the plurality of scanning times;
Based on the amount of deflection of each nozzle determined by the landing position measuring means and the nozzle combination table, the total amount of deflection (hereinafter defined as “integration”) for each line is counted, and the plurality of nozzles are counted. A counting step for performing a calculation for integrating the amount of deflection of the combination of nozzles according to the number of scans;
Based on the nozzle combination table and the counting result, a maximum value is determined from the integrated amount of the amount of deflection for each line in each table, and the maximum value of the amount of accumulated amount of the twist is compared among the plurality of tables. A table determining step for determining a nozzle combination table;
An ink jet recording method comprising: a paper feed control step of controlling a paper feed amount in the plurality of scans based on a result of the determining means.   In the table determining step, a maximum value is determined from the accumulated amount of the deflection amount for each line in each table, and the nozzle combination table that minimizes the maximum value of the accumulated amount of deflection from the plurality of tables. The inkjet recording method according to claim 10, wherein the ink jet recording method is determined.   12. The inkjet recording according to claim 10, wherein the inkjet head is a head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Method.

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