JP2005342994A - Recording head, recording head cartridge, and method of controlling recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording head capable of performing recording on a recording medium even when structures of ejection nozzles are different from each other. <P>SOLUTION: This recording head can be attached to a recorder having an arithmetic processing part for controlling the recording. The recording head comprises a plurality of ejection nozzle arrays each having the plurality of ejection nozzles for ejecting ink arranged thereon and a memory section storing a coefficient corresponding to the structure of the ejection nozzle, as information relating to the ejection nozzle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording head and a recording head cartridge used in a recording apparatus that performs a recording operation on a recording medium by discharging a liquid such as ink, and a control method for the recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording head equipped with a member functioning as a ROM (Read Only Memory) is known in order to allow the ink jet recording head to freely hold information related to its format and manufacturing. For example, in Patent Document 1, it is ideal that “identification data” such as ink color, revision of composition, resolution, number of nozzles, nozzle interval is directly supplied from the print cartridge to the printer body. It is disclosed that it is ideal to provide such “identification data” in each print cartridge during manufacture of the cartridge, and that a fuse serving as a ROM is simultaneously formed in the print cartridge. If this fuse is selectively blown by the control of the logic circuit formed at the same time, information on the type of the print cartridge and other information such as manufacturing tolerance can be written and held depending on whether or not the fuse is blown.

In Patent Document 2, referring to the discharge port area stored in the EEPROM of the print head, the larger the discharge port area, the smaller the degree of modulation of the drive pulse width with respect to the temperature change of the print head. It is described that ink is discharged and discharge amount correction is performed by temperature change in consideration of the influence of the discharge port area.
Japanese Patent Registration No. 3428683 Japanese Patent Registration No. 3313751

  In recent years, an improvement in recording speed has become an important theme for recording apparatuses. One technique for improving the recording speed is to increase the number of ejection ports of the recording head. In order to improve the productivity of the recording head, it is desirable to reduce the recording chip size by reducing the distance between the ejection port arrays of the recording head. In the future, when a recording head with a changed ejection port configuration is installed in a conventional recording apparatus, the number of ejection ports is increased and the printable area is widened. Since the recording was performed in the possible area, the recording speed was not improved. In addition, although the recording heads have different distances between the ejection port arrays, the ejection is performed at the ejection timing as usual, and the recording is executed. Therefore, the landing position on the recording medium is shifted from the desired position, and the recording quality is deteriorated. There was a problem that a high image could not be obtained.

  In addition, when the recording apparatus prepares a recording control table corresponding to each recording head in order to correspond to each of the recording heads having a plurality of new ejection port configurations, it is necessary to store a huge amount of the recording control table. is there. For this reason, there is a problem that not only the cost due to enlarging the memory for storing an enormous amount of recording control tables increases but also the recording control becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and a recording head, a recording head cartridge, and a recording apparatus capable of recording on a recording medium even if the discharge port configuration is different. It is an object to provide a control method.

The recording head of the present invention for achieving the above object is a recording head that can be attached to a recording apparatus having an arithmetic processing unit for controlling recording,
A plurality of ejection port arrays in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged; and
As information about the discharge port, a storage unit that stores a coefficient corresponding to the configuration of the discharge port;
It is the structure which has.

  In the present invention, since the coefficient corresponding to the configuration of the ejection port is stored in the storage unit of the recording head, if the arithmetic processing unit reads this coefficient, even if the recording head has a different configuration of the ejection port, Recording control can be performed according to the configuration of the exit.

  According to the present invention, any recording head of a plurality of types of recording heads having different discharge port configurations can be mounted on the same recording apparatus, and the recording apparatus can perform recording control with simple calculations without performing complicated calculations. Setting is possible. Therefore, the recording apparatus of the present invention can perform recording at a desired recording speed if a recording head having a discharge port configuration with improved recording speed is mounted. Further, if a recording head having a discharge port structure with improved recording quality is mounted, an image with a desired quality can be recorded.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 8 are explanatory views for explaining a suitable recording head to which the present invention is implemented or applied. 1 to 3 are diagrams relating to the first recording head, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams relating to the second recording head. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the recording element substrate provided in the recording head, and FIG. 8 is an external view of the recording apparatus. Hereinafter, each component will be described with reference to these drawings.

  1 and 4 are perspective views showing the appearance of the recording head.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the recording head of the present invention has an ink tank integrated structure. The first recording head H1000 in FIG. 1 uses black ink and the second recording head H1001 in FIG. Is equipped with color ink (cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink). These recording heads H1000 and H1001 are fixedly supported by positioning means and electrical contacts of a carriage mounted on the recording apparatus main body, and are detachable from the carriage, so that the mounted ink is consumed. Are exchanged respectively.

Next, these recording heads will be described in more detail step by step for each component constituting the recording head.
(1) Recording Head The first recording head H1000 and the second recording head H1001 in the present embodiment generate electricity that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling for ejecting ink in response to an electrical signal. It is an ink jet recording head using a heat conversion body, and is a so-called side shooter type recording head in which an electrothermal conversion body and an ink discharge port are arranged to face each other.
(1-1) First Recording Head The first recording head H1000 is used for black ink. As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2, the recording element substrate H1100, the electric wiring tape H1300, and the ink supply A holding member H1500, a filter H1700, an ink absorber H1600, a lid member H1900, and a seal member H1800 are included.
(1-1-1) First Recording Element Substrate FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view for explaining the configuration of the first recording element substrate H1100. For example, the first recording element substrate H1100 is anisotropically etched by using a Si substrate H1110 having a thickness of 0.5 to 1 mm and an ink supply port H1102 having a long groove-like through-hole serving as an ink flow path using the crystal orientation of Si. Or sandblasting.

  On both sides of the ink supply port H1102, electrothermal conversion elements H1103 serving as ejection energy generating elements are arranged side by side, and are further formed from Al or the like for supplying electric power to the electrothermal conversion elements H1103. An electric wiring (not shown) is formed. These electrothermal conversion elements H1103 and electric wiring are formed by a film forming technique. The electrothermal conversion elements H1103 are arranged in a staggered manner in each row, that is, the positions of the ejection ports in each row are slightly shifted so as not to line up in a direction orthogonal to the row direction. Furthermore, electrode portions H1104 for supplying electric power to the electric wiring or supplying an electric signal for driving the electrothermal conversion element H1103 are arranged along both outer sides of the electrothermal conversion element H1103. A bump H1105 made of Au or the like is formed on the electrode portion H1104.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the surface of the Si substrate H1110 on which these patterns are formed, an ink flow path wall H1106 that forms an ink flow path corresponding to the electrothermal conversion element H1103, and a top portion that covers the top thereof. And a structure made of a resin material with a discharge port H1107 opened in the ceiling is formed by photolithography. The discharge port 1107 is provided to face the electrothermal conversion element H1103, and forms a discharge port group H1108. In the first recording element H1100, the ink supplied from the ink flow path H1102 is ejected from the ejection port 1107 facing each electrothermal conversion element H1103 by the pressure of the bubbles generated by the heat generated by each electrothermal conversion element H1103. The
(1-1-2) Electric Wiring Tape As shown in FIG. 2, the electric wiring tape H1300 forms an electric signal path for applying an electric signal for ejecting ink to the first recording element substrate H1100. An opening H1303 for incorporating the recording element substrate is formed, and an electrode terminal H1304 connected to the electrode portion H1104 of the recording element substrate is formed near the edge of the opening. The electrical wiring tape H1300 has an external signal input terminal H1302 for receiving an electrical signal from the main unit, and the electrode terminal H1304 and the external signal input terminal H1302 are connected by a continuous copper foil wiring pattern. Yes.

The electrical connection between the electrical wiring tape H1300 and the first recording element substrate 1100 is, for example, the bump H1105 formed on the electrode portion H1104 of the first recording element substrate H1100 and the electrode portion H1104 of the first recording element substrate H1100. The electrode terminal H1304 of the electric wiring tape H1300 corresponding to is electrically bonded by a thermosonic bonding method.
(1-1-3) Ink Supply Holding Member The ink supply holding member H1500 is formed by, for example, resin molding. As the resin material, it is desirable to use a resin material mixed with 5 to 40% of glass filler in order to improve the shape rigidity. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply holding member H1500 has an absorber H1600 for holding ink therein and generating negative pressure, so that the function of the ink tank and the ink are applied to the first recording element substrate H1100. And an ink supply function by forming an ink flow path for guiding the ink. As the ink absorber H1600, a compressed PP fiber is used, but a compressed urethane fiber may be used. A filter H1700 for preventing dust from entering the recording element substrate H1100 is joined to the boundary portion with the ink absorber H1600, which is the upstream portion of the ink flow path, by welding. The filter H1700 may be a SUS metal mesh type, but is preferably a SUS metal fiber sintered type.

  An ink supply port H1200 for supplying black ink to the first recording element substrate H1100 is formed in the downstream portion of the ink flow path, and the ink supply port 1102 of the first recording element substrate H1100 supplies ink. The first recording element substrate H1100 is bonded and fixed to the ink supply holding member H1500 with high positional accuracy so as to communicate with the ink supply port H1200 of the holding member H1500. The first adhesive used for the bonding is desirably a low viscosity, low curing temperature, cured in a short time, has a relatively high hardness after curing, and has ink resistance. For example, a thermosetting adhesive mainly composed of an epoxy resin is used as the first adhesive, and the thickness of the adhesive layer at that time is preferably about 50 μm.

In addition, a part of the back surface of the electric wiring tape H1300 is bonded and fixed to the plane around the bonding surface of the first recording element substrate H1100 by the second adhesive. The electrical connection portion between the first recording element substrate H1100 and the electrical wiring tape H1300 is sealed with a first sealant H1307 and a second sealant H1308 (see FIG. 7), and the electrical connection portion is made of ink. Protected against corrosion and external impacts. The first sealing agent H1307 mainly seals the back surface side of the connection portion between the electrode terminal H1302 of the electric wiring tape H1300 and the bump H1105 of the recording element substrate and the outer peripheral portion of the recording element substrate, and the second sealing agent. The agent H1308 seals the front side of the connection portion described above. The unbonded portion of the electric wiring tape H1300 is bent and fixed to the side surface of the ink supply holding member H1500 that is substantially perpendicular to the bonding surface of the first recording element substrate H1100 by heat caulking or bonding.
(1-1-4) Lid Member A lid member H1900 shown in FIG. 2 seals the inside of the ink supply holding member H1500 by being welded to the upper opening of the ink supply holding member H1500. However, the lid member H1900 has a narrow hole H1910 for releasing pressure fluctuation inside the ink supply holding member H1500 and a fine groove H1920 communicating with the fine hole H1910. Most of the fine hole H1910 and the fine groove H1920 are covered with the seal member H1800. An air communication port is formed by opening one end of the groove H1920. Further, an engaging portion H1930 for fixing the first recording head to the recording apparatus is provided.
(1-2) Second Recording Head The second recording head H1001 shown in FIG. 4 is for discharging ink of three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow. As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. The recording element substrate H1101, an electric wiring tape H1301, an ink supply holding member H1501, filters H1701 to H1703, ink absorbers H1601 to H1603, a lid member H1901, and a seal member H1801.
(1-2-1) Second Recording Element Substrate FIG. 6 is an external perspective view partially broken away for explaining the configuration of the second recording element substrate H1101, and is for cyan, yellow and magenta. Ink supply ports H1102 are formed in parallel. Electrothermal conversion elements H1103 and discharge ports H1107 are arranged in a row in a staggered manner on both sides of each ink supply port H1102. Similar to the Si substrate H1110 and the first recording element substrate H1100, electrical wiring, an electrode portion H1104, and the like are formed on the Si substrate H1101, and an ink flow path wall is formed on the Si substrate H1101 by a photolithography technique using a resin material. H1106 and discharge ports H1107 are formed, and bumps H1105 such as Au are formed on the electrode portion H1104 for supplying power to the electrical wiring.
(1-2-2) Electric Wiring Tape As shown in FIG. 5, the electric wiring tape H1301 forms an electric signal path for applying an electric signal for ejecting ink to the second recording element substrate H1101. An opening for incorporating the recording element substrate is formed, and an electrode terminal H1304 connected to the electrode portion H1104 of the recording element substrate is formed near the edge of the opening. The electrical wiring tape H1301 is formed with an external signal input terminal H1302 for receiving an electrical signal from the main unit, and the electrode terminal H1304 and the external signal input terminal H1302 are connected by a continuous copper foil wiring pattern. Yes.

The electrical connection between the electrical wiring tape H1301 and the second recording element substrate 1101 is, for example, the bump H1105 formed on the electrode portion H1104 of the second recording element substrate H1101 and the electrode portion H1104 of the second recording element substrate H1101. The electrode terminal H1304 of the electric wiring tape H1301 corresponding to is electrically bonded by a thermosonic bonding method.
(1-2-3) Ink Supply Holding Member The ink supply holding member H1501 is formed by resin molding, for example. As the resin material, it is desirable to use a resin material mixed with 5 to 40% of glass filler in order to improve the shape rigidity. As shown in FIG. 5, the ink supply holding member H1501 holds the absorbers H1601, H1602, and H1603 for generating negative pressure for holding cyan, magenta, and yellow inks therein independently. The ink tank function and the ink supply function by forming independent ink flow paths for guiding ink to the ink supply ports H1102 of the second recording element substrate H1101. . Ink absorbers H1601, H1602, and H1603 are made by compressing PP fibers, but may be compressed urethane fibers. Filters H1701, H1702, and H1703 for preventing dust from entering the inside of the recording element substrate H1101 are joined to the boundary portions with the ink absorbers H1601, H1602, and H1603 at the upstream portion of each ink flow path by welding. . Each of the filters H1701, H1702, and H1703 may be a SUS metal mesh type, but is preferably a SUS metal fiber sintered type.

  In the downstream portion of the ink flow path, ink supply ports H1201 for supplying cyan, yellow, and magenta inks to the second recording element substrate H1101 are formed, and each ink of the second recording element substrate H1101 is formed. The second recording element substrate H1101 is bonded and fixed to the ink supply holding member H1501 with high positional accuracy so that the supply port 1102 communicates with each ink supply port H1201 of the ink supply holding member H1501. The first adhesive used for the bonding is desirably a low viscosity, low curing temperature, cured in a short time, has a relatively high hardness after curing, and has ink resistance. For example, a thermosetting adhesive mainly composed of an epoxy resin is used as the first adhesive, and the thickness of the adhesive layer at that time is preferably about 50 μm.

Further, a part of the back surface of the electric wiring tape H1301 is bonded and fixed to the plane around the ink supply port H1201 by the second adhesive. The electrical connection portion between the second recording element substrate H1101 and the electrical wiring tape H1301 is sealed with a first sealant H1307 and a second sealant H1308 (see FIG. 7), and the electrical connection portion is made of ink. Protected against corrosion and external impacts. The first sealing agent H1307 mainly seals the back surface side of the connection portion between the electrode terminal H1302 of the electric wiring tape H1300 and the bump H1105 of the recording element substrate and the outer peripheral portion of the recording element substrate, and the second sealing agent. The agent H1308 seals the front side of the connection portion described above. The unbonded portion of the electric wiring tape H1301 is bent and fixed to the side surface of the ink supply holding member H1501 that is substantially orthogonal to the surface having the ink supply port H1201 by heat caulking or bonding.
(1-2-4) Lid Member The lid member H1901 closes an independent space inside the ink supply holding member H1501 by being welded to the upper opening of the ink supply holding member H1501. However, the lid member H1901 has narrow ports H1911, H1912, and H1913 for releasing pressure fluctuations in the respective chambers inside the ink supply holding member H1501, and fine grooves H1921, H1922, and H1923 that communicate with the narrow ports. The other ends of the fine grooves H1921 and H1922 join in the middle of the fine groove H1923. Further, most of the narrow holes H1911, H1912, and H1913, the fine grooves H1921, H1922, and the fine groove H1923 are covered with a seal member H1801, and the other end of the fine groove H1923 is opened to form an air communication port. Further, an engaging portion H1930 for fixing the second recording head to the recording apparatus is provided.
(1-3) Mounting of Recording Head to Recording Apparatus As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the first recording head H1000 and the second recording head H1001 are guided to the mounting position of the carriage of the recording apparatus main body. Mounting guide H1560, an engaging portion H1930 for mounting and fixing to the carriage by the head set lever, an X-direction (carriage scanning direction) abutting portion H1570 for positioning at a predetermined mounting position of the carriage, Y-direction ( An abutting portion H1580 in the recording medium conveyance direction) and an abutting portion H1590 in the Z direction (ink ejection direction) are provided. By positioning by the abutting portion, the external signal input terminal H1302 on the electrical wiring tapes H1300 and H1301 accurately makes electrical contact with the contact pins of the electrical connection portion provided in the carriage.
(2) Recording Device Next, a liquid discharge recording device capable of mounting the above-described cartridge type recording head will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus in which the liquid discharge recording head of the present invention can be mounted.

  In the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the recording heads H1000 and H1001 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 are mounted on the carriage 102 so as to be exchangeable. External signals on the recording heads H1000 and H1001 are mounted on the carriage 102. An electrical connection unit for transmitting a drive signal and the like to each discharge unit via an input terminal is provided.

  The carriage 102 is guided and supported so as to reciprocate along a guide shaft 103 installed in the apparatus main body extending in the main scanning direction. The carriage 102 is driven by a main scanning motor 104 via drive mechanisms such as a motor pulley 105, a driven pulley 106, and a timing belt 107, and its position and movement are controlled. A home position sensor 130 is provided on the carriage 102. Accordingly, since the position of the shielding plate 136 is detected when the home position sensor 130 passes the shielding plate 136, the recording apparatus can know the position of the carriage 102.

  A recording medium 108 such as a printing paper or a plastic thin plate is separated and fed one by one from an auto sheet feeder (ASF) 132 by rotating a pickup roller 131 from a paper feed motor 135 via a gear. Further, by the rotation of the conveyance roller 109, the conveyance roller 109 is conveyed (sub-scanned) through a position (printing unit) facing the discharge port surfaces of the recording heads H1000 and H1001. The conveyance roller 109 is performed via a gear by the rotation of the LF motor 134. At this time, the determination of whether or not the paper has been fed and the determination of the cueing position at the time of paper feeding are performed when the recording medium 108 passes through the paper end sensor 133. Further, the paper end sensor 133 is also used to finally determine the current recording position from the actual rear end where the rear end is located.

  The recording medium 108 is supported by a platen (not shown) on the back surface so that a flat print surface is formed in the printing unit. In this case, the recording heads H1000 and H1001 mounted on the carriage 102 are held so that their discharge port surfaces protrude downward from the carriage 102 and are parallel to the recording medium 108 between the two pairs of transport rollers. ing.

  The recording heads H1000 and H1001 are mounted on the carriage 102 such that the direction in which the ejection ports are arranged in each ejection section intersects the scanning direction of the carriage 102 described above, and ejects liquid from these ejection port arrays. To record.

  The configuration of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording apparatus in this embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the recording device 60 includes an image input unit 62 to which an image signal is input, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 63 that is an arithmetic processing unit that controls the entire recording device 60, and an image input unit 62. An image signal processing unit 66 that performs predetermined signal processing on the input image signal, a clock signal control unit 67 that controls the clock signal, a conveyance amount control unit 68 that controls the conveyance amount of the recording medium, and an ejection timing The configuration includes a control unit 69 and a recording head 70. Each unit is connected by a bus line 61 for transmitting an address signal, a control signal, and data.

  The CPU 63 includes a ROM 64 in which various programs are stored, and a RAM 65 that serves as a work area for various programs in the ROM 64 and a temporary save area during error processing. The ROM 64 stores information including constants such as the number of block divisions and discharge port density in addition to a control program, an error processing program, a sequence program described later, and a program for operating the CPU 63. Here, the block division number is a block division number of block division driving in which all the ejection openings are divided into a plurality of blocks in a predetermined number unit, and ink is ejected by time division in block units. The constants stored in the ROM 64 are values for recording control.

  In addition, the memory area of the RAM 65 includes an area for temporarily storing numerical information related to the configuration of the ejection ports of the recording head, which is obtained in a sequence described later. The numerical information related to the configuration of the ejection ports is an ejection port calculation coefficient that is a coefficient for enabling recording with recording heads having different numbers of ejection ports. Here, the discharge port calculation coefficient is a value obtained by dividing the number of discharge ports by the number of block divisions.

  The transport amount control unit 68 functions to instruct the transport amount of the recording medium to the LF motor 134 of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. The ejection timing control unit 69 corrects and controls the ejection timing of the ink droplets in each ejection port array according to the distance between the ejection port arrays of the recording head 70 according to a sequence described later.

  The recording head 70 includes an EEPROM 71 serving as a storage unit for storing head information such as ejection port calculation coefficients. The head information includes a serial number serving as an ID number unique to the recording head, color information, ejection port calculation coefficient, temperature sensor correction value, head position correction value, and date of manufacture. The color information is information relating to the color of the ink, such as whether it is black or color.

  In the case of the first recording head H1000 shown in FIG. 2, the EEPROM 71 is provided, for example, on the electric wiring tape H1300. The EEPROM 71 transmits and receives signals to and from the recording apparatus main body via the external signal input terminal H1302. In the recording head H1000 shown in FIG. 2, the EEPROM 71 is arranged on the back side of the electric wiring tape H1300.

  Next, the configuration of the inkjet recording substrate provided on the recording element substrate of the recording head 70 will be briefly described.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the main part showing one structural example of an ink jet recording substrate. As shown in FIG. 10, the inkjet recording substrate includes an electrothermal conversion element H1103, a first drive element H1116 that drives the electrothermal conversion element H1103, and a selection circuit H1112 that operates the first drive element H1116. A shift register circuit (S / T), a latch circuit (LT), and a decoder (DECODER) for operating the selection circuit H1112 corresponding to an external signal are formed.

  When a signal based on data for selecting the ejection port of the recording head 70 is input, the shift register circuit sends the signal to the latch circuit. Upon receiving a signal from the shift register circuit, the latch circuit latches the potential of the signal and then sends a part of the signal to the selection circuit H1116 via the signal line in order to specify the selection circuit H1116. Is sent to the selection circuit H1116 via the decoder. The selection circuit H1112 specified by receiving signals from the latch circuit and the decoder outputs a signal having a predetermined voltage to the first driving element H1116.

  One terminal of the electrothermal conversion element H1103 is connected to a VH power supply pad H1104c for supplying VH power from outside via a VH power supply wiring H1114. The other terminal is connected to the drain electrode of the transistor serving as the first driving element H1116.

  A source electrode of the first drive element H1116 is connected to a GNDH power supply pad H1104d for supplying a GNDH power supply from the outside through a GNDH power supply wiring H1113. The gate electrode is connected to the output terminal of the selection circuit H1112. The first driving element H1116 connects the GNDH power supply pad H1104d to the electrothermal conversion element H1103 when a predetermined voltage is applied to the gate electrode by the output from the selection circuit H1112.

  The operation of the circuit having the above configuration will be briefly described. The shift register circuit, the latch circuit, and the decoder are operated by a signal input from the outside through a pad not shown in the figure, whereby the selection circuit H1112 corresponding to the input signal is operated. When the selection circuit H1112 operates and the first driving element H1116 connected to the selection circuit H1112 is turned on, the electrothermal conversion element H11103 is connected to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d via the first driving element H1116. The electrothermal conversion element H11103 is driven.

  Next, the operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the first recording head (black ink recording head) will be described.

  First, a process for reading the head information from the EEPROM 71 to the RAM 65 will be briefly described.

  When the operator attaches the recording head 70 to the recording apparatus and turns on the power, the CPU 63 first reads the unique serial number of the recording head 70 from the EEPROM 71 into the RAM 65, and the serial number value is, for example, FFFFxh. Investigate. If the serial number is FFFFxh, it is determined that there is no recording head, and an error message is displayed on a display unit (not shown). Here, if the recording head 70 is not correctly mounted, the CPU 63 cannot read the serial number and recognizes the serial number as FFFFxh.

  If the serial number is not FFFFxh, the CPU 63 then reads color information from the head information stored in the EEPROM 71 into the RAM 65. Then, it is checked from the color information whether the recording head 70 is mounted at a regular position designated for each color. As a result, if it is correctly mounted, the next data is read into the RAM 65 as it is, and if it is incorrectly mounted, a message indicating that the head position error has occurred is displayed on a display unit (not shown).

  Subsequently, the CPU 63 compares the read serial number with the serial number already stored in the main body in order to check whether or not the installed recording head is new. If the installed recording head is not new and has been installed in the main unit before, the read serial number matches the serial number already stored in the main unit, so the head information is re-entered. There is no need to read, and the head information reading process ends. On the other hand, if the mounted recording head is a new recording head, the read serial number does not match the serial number already stored in the main body, so the remaining information of the new head information is read into the RAM 65. Then, a flag indicating that a new recording head is mounted is set. Further, the shading information (HS) of the recording head 70 is read, and the head information reading process ends.

  As described above, when the power is turned on, the ejection port calculation coefficient is read from the EEPROM 71 into the RAM 65 together with the serial number and color information as head information. The discharge port calculation coefficient is stored in advance in the EEPROM 71 during the manufacturing process of the recording head 70. In the present embodiment, a value obtained by dividing the number of ejection ports of the recording head 70 by the number of block divisions is stored in the EEPROM 71 as an ejection port calculation coefficient. Hereinafter, as a specific example, the case where the number of ejection ports of the recording head 70 is “320” and the number of block divisions is “16” will be described. In this case, the discharge port calculation coefficient stored in the EEPROM 71 is 320/16 = 20.

  Next, after the power of the recording apparatus is turned on, the data signal processing method executed by the image signal processing unit 66 and the recording medium executed by the carry amount control unit 68 in accordance with the ejection port calculation coefficient stored in the RAM 65 Will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operations of the CPU, the image signal processing unit, and the carry amount control unit in this embodiment. First, a data signal processing method by the image signal processing unit 66 will be described.

  Usually, data sent from a host computer to a recording apparatus is recorded on the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction. The data transferred from the host computer to the recording device is stored in the receiving buffer provided in the RAM 65 of the recording device in the order of transfer. On the other hand, the plurality of ejection openings of the recording head 70 form an ejection opening array aligned in parallel with the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Therefore, when recording data temporarily stored in the reception buffer, the image signal processing unit 66 executes vertical / horizontal conversion processing for rotating the data by 90 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the image signal processing unit 66 reads the ejection port calculation coefficient “20” stored in the RAM 65 (step S <b> 101), reads the block division number constant “16” stored in the ROM 64, and The ejection port number “320” is calculated by multiplying it by the ejection port calculation coefficient “20” read in step S101 (step S102). Subsequently, the data subjected to vertical / horizontal conversion is subjected to signal processing in units of the number of ejection ports of the recording head 70 to generate a data signal to be transferred to the recording head 70 (step S103).

  Here, the arrangement of the discharge ports will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 70 has one row of ejection port rows on both sides of the ink supply port. Hereinafter, one of the two ejection port arrays is referred to as an EVEN array, and the other is referred to as an ODD array. The EVEN row discharge ports and the ODD row discharge ports are provided alternately, and the two rows of discharge ports are arranged in a staggered manner. Ink is selectively ejected from the ejection ports by giving a serial data signal to each ejection port array.

  The data subjected to vertical / horizontal conversion is alternately allocated to the EVEN column and the ODD column in units of “320” ejection ports, and further processed into a data array for each divided block. In the case of the present embodiment, the number of bits of recording data serving as drive data among the data signals per block of one row is 10 bits.

  FIG. 12A shows a timing chart of data signals transferred to the recording head 70 when the number of ejection ports is “320” and the number of bits of recording data is 10 bits. In this embodiment, block selection data for determining which block for block division driving is selected, and driving data for determining which ejection port to eject ink according to image data, in order, The data is transferred as serial data to the ink jet recording substrate of the recording head 70. When a recording head with a different number of ejection ports is mounted, the number of block divisions is a constant “16”, so the number of bits of block selection data remains fixed at 4 bits, and only the number of bits of drive data differs. Therefore, if the data signals are generated in the order as described above, complicated signal processing can be reduced.

  The data transferred to the recording head 70 is input to a shift register circuit arranged on the inkjet recording substrate, latched, and a transistor is connected via a gate corresponding to a drive data signal given to each block by a latch signal. Driven to eject ink from the ejection port. Therefore, the latch signal must be given after all drive data signals are latched via the shift register circuit for each block. Therefore, the timing of the data signal with respect to the latch signal is adjusted according to numerical information related to the number of ejection ports. Since the shift register circuit operates in synchronization with the clock, the clock control unit 67 increases or decreases the number of clocks according to the number of data signals.

  An example when a recording head having a different number of ejection ports from that described above is mounted will be described. FIG. 12B is a timing chart of data signals when the recording head 70 having the number of ejection ports “384” is mounted. In the EEPROM 71 of the recording head 70, “24” is stored as a discharge port calculation coefficient. This value is multiplied by a constant “16” to calculate the number of ejection ports “384”, and the image signal processing unit 66 performs signal processing on the data subjected to vertical / horizontal conversion in units of the value and transfers the data to the recording head 70. Is generated. Here, the number of bits of drive data per block is 12 bits. Therefore, the image signal processing unit 66 also performs processing for adjusting the timing of the data signal to be transmitted to the recording head 70 so that the latch signal does not enter during the transfer of the data signal.

  By processing data in this way, even when a recording head with a different number of ejection ports is mounted, it is possible to process a data signal with an information amount corresponding to the number of ejection ports. Ink can be ejected.

  Next, a method for determining the conveyance amount of the recording medium executed by the conveyance amount control unit 68 will be described.

  The carry amount control unit 68 determines the carry amount of the recording medium according to the ejection port calculation coefficient as follows. When recording heads 70 having different numbers of ejection ports are mounted on the recording apparatus main body, if the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not corrected, a recording area overlaps or a non-recording part occurs. Can not do it. Therefore, the conveyance amount control unit 68 reads the discharge port calculation coefficient “20” (step S101), and then multiplies the numerical value “20” by the block division number constant “16” stored in the ROM 64 to determine the number of discharge ports. Is obtained (step S102). Subsequently, a discharge port length of 0.53 inches is calculated by dividing by the discharge port density constant “600” read simultaneously from the ROM 64. Further, the conveyance amount of the recording medium when the recording head performs one scan is determined according to the value (step S104). For example, when performing 1-pass recording, the recording medium may be conveyed by 0.53 inches, and when performing 2-pass recording, the recording medium may be conveyed by 0.27 inches.

  After setting the data signal processing method and the carry amount determination method described above, the CPU 63 adapts the settings until the printing of the desired image is completed in the printing process from step S105 to step S107, together with the processing unit and each control unit. Control to print a desired image.

  As described above, if the ejection port calculation coefficient is stored in the EEPROM serving as the storage unit of the recording head, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of recording control tables in the recording apparatus main body corresponding to the recording heads having different numbers of ejection ports. In addition, it is possible to deal with recording heads with different numbers of ejection ports by simply performing processing on the ejection port calculation coefficient, so even if a recording head with an increased number of ejection ports is installed in the recording device, the recording quality of the image is maintained. However, the recording speed can be increased.

  In the present embodiment, the black ink recording head has been described. However, if the color ink recording head has the same configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved. Moreover, although an example was given about values, such as the number of discharge outlets and a block division number, if the objective of this invention is achieved, another value may be sufficient. Furthermore, the number of ejection ports may be calculated using a constant other than the number of block divisions as a constant for printing control.

  In this embodiment, instead of the EEPROM 71 of the first embodiment, a ROM comprising a fuse array is provided in the recording head as a storage unit. Hereinafter, a ROM formed of a fuse array is referred to as a fuse ROM. The fuse ROM will be briefly described.

  The fuse ROM stores binary data including information “1” and “0” in each fuse by setting each fuse in a disconnected state or a connected state. In this embodiment, the state where the fuse is blown is information “1”, and the state where the fuse is connected is information “0”. The fuse array is formed at the same time when a layer film such as an ink discharge mechanism is formed on a base substrate for manufacturing an inkjet recording substrate. When the fuses are formed, the fuses are connected, and all the fuses hold the information “0” in the binary data. In order to store information “1” of the binary data in a specific fuse, it is only necessary to control the logic circuit formed at the same time when forming the fuse, select the fuse, and blow the fuse by a method described later. .

  Next, the configuration of the inkjet recording substrate will be described. FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the main part of an ink jet recording substrate. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure similar to the board | substrate for inkjet recording shown in FIG. 10, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 10, the ink jet recording substrate includes a fuse H1117 for storing information unique to the head and a second drive element H1118.

  In this embodiment, the fuse H1117 is formed of a polysilicon resistor, and is disposed on the short side of the ink supply port. FIG. 13 shows a case where the fuse H1117 is a four-fuse array. One terminal of the four fuses H1117 is connected to the ID pad H1104a. The other terminal of the fuse H <b> 1117 is connected to the drain electrode of a transistor serving as a different second driving element H <b> 1118.

  The second driving element H1118 is disposed adjacent to the first driving element H1116, and is driven to blow the fuse H1117 or read information from the fuse H1117. The gate electrode of the second drive element H1118 is connected to the output terminal of the selection circuit H1112. Further, the source electrode is connected to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d through the GNDH power supply wiring H1113 in the same manner as the first drive element H1116. The second drive element H1118 connects the fuse H1117 to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d when a predetermined voltage is applied to the gate electrode.

  The ID pad H1104a functions as a fuse cutting power supply terminal for applying a voltage when the fuse H1117 is blown, and functions as a signal output terminal to the outside when reading information from the fuse H1117. An ID power supply pad H1104b serving as a fuse read power supply terminal is connected between the ID pad H1104a and the fuse H1117 via a read resistor H1111. The resistance value of the read resistor H1111 is larger than that of the fuse H1117.

  When a signal for selecting the fuse H1117 is input from the outside, the shift register circuit, the latch circuit, and the decoder set the selection circuit H1112 corresponding to the input signal in the same manner as described in the first embodiment. Identify. The identified selection circuit H1112 outputs a signal having a predetermined voltage to the first drive element H1116.

  A fusing method for making the fuse H1117 blown by the circuit having the above-described configuration will be described. The ID power pad H1104b is left open. When a signal for selecting the fuse H1117 is input from the outside, the corresponding selection circuit H1112 is operated by signals from the shift register circuit, the latch circuit, and the decoder, and a signal having a predetermined voltage is supplied from the output terminal to the second drive. Output to the element H1118. As a result, the second drive element H1118 is turned on, and the fuse H1117 is connected to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d. On the other hand, by applying a voltage to the ID pad H1104a, the fuse H1117 connected to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d is instantaneously blown. The voltage applied to the ID pad H1104a is, for example, 24V that is a voltage for driving the electrothermal transducer H1103.

  Next, a method for reading information from the fuse H1117 will be described. When a signal for selecting the fuse H1117 is input from the outside, the selection circuit H1112 corresponding to the input signal is operated in the same manner as in the case of fuse blowing, and the second circuit connected to the selection circuit H1112 is operated. The drive element H1118 is driven. As a result, the selected fuse H1117 is connected to the GNDH power supply pad H1104d. On the other hand, for example, 3.3V of the power supply voltage of the logic circuit is applied to the ID power supply pad H1104b as the voltage.

  If the fuse H1117 is in a blown state, a potential substantially equal to the voltage applied to the ID power supply pad H1104b is output to the ID pad H1104a. On the other hand, if the fuse H1117 is connected, the potential divided by the read resistor H1111 and the fuse H1117 for the voltage applied to the ID power supply pad H1104b is output to the ID pad H1104a. Therefore, the magnitude of the potential output to the ID pad H1104a differs depending on whether the fuse H1117 is connected or disconnected. Then, the potential level output to the ID pad H1104a becomes larger than when the fuse H1117 is blown. Therefore, when the fuse H1117 is blown, the Hi (High) level potential is output to the ID pad H1104a, and when the fuse H1117 is connected, the Lo (Low) level potential is output to the ID pad H1104a. .

  Next, a specific example in which information is stored in the fuse ROM having the above-described configuration will be described. In the following manner, the fuse is selectively blown in the middle of the manufacturing process of the recording head in advance, and the discharge port calculation coefficient is stored in the fuse ROM.

  Assuming that the number of ejection ports is 320, this 320 is divided by the block division number of 16 to obtain the ejection port calculation coefficient = 20. When the numerical value of 20 is expressed in binary, it becomes “10100”. Therefore, 10100xb is stored in the fuse ROM. In this case, since the number portion is five digits, five fuses are required to store this number. When 5 bits are allocated for the discharge port calculation coefficient in the fuse ROM having an information amount of several bits, the information “1” is obtained at the third and fifth positions counted from the first place. Therefore, the fuses for storing the third bit and the fifth bit may be blown respectively.

  Further, when manufacturing an inkjet recording substrate, a part of the fuse ROM may be stored with a wiring pattern instead of the fuse, and the ejection port calculation coefficient may be stored.

  FIG. 14 is a main part schematic diagram showing an example of storing information in a wiring pattern.

  When forming the polysilicon resistor in the manufacturing process, a wiring pattern H1119 as shown in FIG. 14 is formed at the position of the fuse shown in FIG. 13 when the electrothermal conversion element H1103 is formed. In FIG. 14, information “0101” is stored from the left side of the figure due to the wiring pattern. Since the configuration of the discharge port is determined at the time of forming the electrothermal conversion element H1103 in the manufacturing process, there is no functional problem in the manufactured recording apparatus even if the wiring pattern is formed in this way. Other head information may be stored in a fuse not shown in the figure.

  Next, the operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be briefly described.

  When the recording apparatus is turned on, the CPU 63 reads the discharge port calculation coefficient by the output from the ID pad H1104a of the fuse ROM of the print head 70, and stores the discharge port calculation coefficient in the RAM 65 on the main body side. According to the ejection port calculation coefficient stored in the RAM 65, the image signal processing unit 66 executes the data signal processing method and the carry amount control unit 68 executes the carry amount determination method in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The effect similar to Example 1 is acquired.

  Further, as described above, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to prepare a ROM chip such as an EEPROM separately from the inkjet recording substrate by using a fuse ROM and a wiring pattern. As a result, the price of the recording head can be reduced, which is advantageous in terms of cost as compared with the prior art. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the productivity by simplifying the structure that can hold various data in a readable manner, and it is also possible to reduce the size and weight.

  In this embodiment, as numerical information relating to the configuration of the discharge ports, instead of the discharge port calculation coefficient of the second embodiment, an inter-row distance coefficient which is a coefficient for enabling recording with a print head having a different distance between the discharge port rows Is used. In the following description, the second recording head (color ink recording head) is applied to the recording head of Example 2.

  The configuration of this embodiment will be described. The same components as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The recording head 70 stores an inter-column distance coefficient as numerical information related to the configuration of the ejection ports. The ROM 64 stores information on the minimum recording pixel pitch and carriage scanning speed. As described in the second embodiment, the inter-column distance coefficient is stored in advance in the fuse ROM provided in the recording head 70 in the manufacturing process of the recording head 70. Information on the minimum recording pixel pitch and carriage scanning speed is stored in the ROM 64 in advance during the manufacturing process.

  In this embodiment, the distance between the ejection port rows between the cyan ejection port row and the yellow ejection port row and the yellow ejection port row and the magenta ejection port row of the recording head is 1344 μm. Further, the minimum recording pixel pitch stored in the ROM 64 is set to 42 μm. The inter-row distance coefficient is a value obtained by dividing the distance between the ejection port rows by the minimum recording pixel pitch. Here, the inter-row distance coefficient is a solution value “32” obtained by dividing the inter-ejection port distance 1344 μm of the print head 70 by the minimum print pixel pitch 42 μm. The inter-column distance coefficient is read from the fuse ROM of the recording head 70 into the RAM 65 of the CPU 63 when the power is turned on.

  Next, a description will be given of a method in which the ejection timing control unit 69 sets ejection timing based on the inter-row distance coefficient for recording heads having different ejection port row distances.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU and the discharge timing control unit in this embodiment. Here, it is assumed that 25 [inch / sec] = 635 [mm / sec] is stored in advance in the ROM 64 of the recording apparatus main body as the scanning speed of the carriage of the recording apparatus main body.

  The ejection timing control unit 69 reads the inter-column distance coefficient “32” from the RAM 65 (S1501), and multiplies the minimum recording pixel pitch “42” read from the ROM 64 by the inter-column distance coefficient “32” (S1502). Since the value “1344” of the calculation result represents the distance [μm] between the ejection port arrays, the relative ejection timing between the ejection port arrays is determined as follows according to this value. The scanning speed of the carriage is read from the ROM 64, and the distance between the ejection port arrays 1344 [μm] is divided by the scanning speed 635 [mm / sec]. 2.12 μsec, which is the solution, is set as a delay in ejection timing between the cyan ejection port array-yellow ejection port array and the yellow ejection port array-magenta ejection port array (S1503). In other words, when ink is ejected from the recording head in the order of cyan, yellow, and magenta to land on a certain recording pixel on the recording medium, yellow is ejected 2.12 μsec after cyan is ejected. In addition, a delay is applied so that magenta is discharged after 2.12 μsec.

  After setting the ejection timing delay, the CPU 63 applies the set value and prints the desired image together with the processing unit and each control unit until the printing of the desired image is completed in the printing process from step S1504 to step 1506. To control.

  In this embodiment, as described above, if the inter-column distance coefficient is stored in the storage unit of the recording head, a plurality of ejection timing tables are prepared in the recording apparatus main body corresponding to the recording heads having different ejection port inter-row distances. There is no need. And by simply performing a process for the inter-row distance coefficient, it becomes possible to cope with print heads having different inter-ejection port row distances. It is possible to record a desired image even if it is attached.

  In the present embodiment, the distance between the ejection port rows between the respective colors has been described. However, if the same configuration as that of the present embodiment is applied to the ejection distance between the EVEN row and the ODD row in one color ejection port, the EVEN It is also possible to cope with recording heads having different distances between the ejection port rows of the rows and the ODD rows. Although the description has been made using the color ink recording head, the object of the present invention can be achieved by applying the same configuration as that of the present embodiment to the black ink recording head. Further, although examples have been given of values such as the distance between the ejection port arrays and the minimum recording pixel pitch, other values may be used as long as the object of the present invention is achieved. Furthermore, the distance between the ejection port arrays may be calculated using a constant other than the minimum recording pixel pitch as a constant for recording control.

  For the sake of explanation, the image signal processing unit 66, the clock signal control unit 67, the transport amount control unit 68, the discharge timing control unit 69, and the CPU 63 are shown separately. However, the CPU 63 performs operations in these processing units and control unit. And execute control processing.

  Further, the numerical information regarding the configuration of the ejection ports stored in the storage unit of the recording head may include not only one of the ejection port calculation coefficient and the inter-column distance coefficient, but both.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a first recording head. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first recording head shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which the first recording element substrate is partially broken. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a second recording head. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the second recording head illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which a second recording element substrate is partially broken. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a recording element substrate provided in the recording head. 1 is an external view illustrating an example of a recording apparatus. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a principal part schematic diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the board | substrate for inkjet recording. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the recording apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4 is a timing chart of data signals transferred to a recording head. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main part of an example of an inkjet recording substrate of Example 2. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the main part of another example of the ink jet recording substrate of Example 2. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the recording apparatus according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

H1000 First recording head H1001 Second recording head H1100 First recording element substrate H1101 Second recording element substrate H1102 Ink supply port H1103 Electrothermal conversion element H1104 Electrode portion H1104a ID pad H1104b ID power supply pad H1104c VH power supply pad H1104d GNDH power supply pad H1105 Bump H1106 Ink channel wall H1107 Ejection port H1108 Ejection port array H1110 Si substrate H1111 Read resistance H1112 Selection circuit H1113 GNDH power supply wiring H1114 VH power supply wiring H1116 First drive element H1117 Fuse H1118 Second drive element H1119 wiring Pattern H1200 First ink supply port H1201 Second ink supply port H1300 Electrical wiring tape H1302 External signal input terminal H1303 Opening portion H1304 Electrode terminal H1307 First sealing agent H1308 Second sealing agent H1500 First ink supply member H1501 Second ink supply member H1560 Mounting guide H1570 X abutting portion H1580 Y abutting Part H1590 Z abutting part H1600, H1601, H1602, H1603 Ink absorber H1700, H1701, H1702, H1703 Filter H1800, H1801 Seal member H1900, H1901 Lid member H1910, H1911, H1912, H1913 Fine port H1920, H1921, H1923 Narrow groove

Claims (14)

A recording head that can be attached to a recording apparatus including an arithmetic processing unit for recording control,
A plurality of ejection port arrays in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged; and
A storage unit storing a coefficient corresponding to the configuration of the discharge port as information on the discharge port;
A recording head.   Among the coefficients corresponding to the configuration of the ejection ports, an ejection port calculation coefficient that is a coefficient for obtaining the number of ejection ports, and an inter-row distance coefficient that is a coefficient for obtaining a distance between the ejection port arrays The recording head according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the recording heads is stored in the storage unit. A first constant for recording control is stored in the arithmetic processing unit,
The recording head according to claim 2, wherein the ejection port calculation coefficient is a value obtained by dividing the number of the ejection ports by the first constant.   The first constant is a block division number of block division driving in which all of the ejection openings are divided into a plurality of blocks in a predetermined number unit, and the ink is ejected by time division in the block unit. Recording head. A second constant for recording control is stored in the arithmetic processing unit,
The printhead according to claim 2, wherein the inter-row distance coefficient is a value obtained by dividing the distance between the discharge port rows by the second constant.   6. The recording head according to claim 5, wherein the second constant is a minimum recording pixel pitch that can be recorded on a recording medium. A plurality of ejection energy generating elements for applying energy to eject the ink for each ejection port;
A signal including block selection data for selecting the block for block division driving and drive data for selecting the ejection energy generating element to be driven in accordance with image data is in the order of the block selection data and the drive data. A shift register circuit that selectively drives a desired ejection energy generating element from the plurality of ejection energy generating elements in response to the block selection data and driving data when input from a recording apparatus;
The recording head according to claim 4, comprising:   The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a fuse ROM. A recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A liquid storage container for holding ink to be applied to the recording head;
A recording head cartridge. A plurality of ejection port arrays in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged, ejection energy generating elements that impart ejection energy to ink, and ejection port calculation coefficients that are coefficients for determining the number of ejection ports. A control method for a recording apparatus comprising a recording head having a storage unit stored therein, and an arithmetic processing unit in which constants for recording control are stored,
The arithmetic processing unit reading the discharge port calculation coefficient from the storage unit;
A discharge port calculating step of obtaining the number of discharge ports by multiplying the discharge port calculation coefficient by the constant;
For the drive data for operating the ejection energy generating element in accordance with image data input from the outside, generating the drive data in which the information amount of the drive data is changed corresponding to the number of ejection ports;
A control method for a recording apparatus comprising:   The method for controlling a recording apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a step of controlling a conveyance amount of a recording medium during recording corresponding to the number of ejection ports after the ejection port calculating step.   12. The block constant is a block division number of block division driving in which all the ejection openings are divided into a plurality of blocks in a predetermined number unit, and the ink is ejected by time division in the block unit. Control method of recording apparatus. A plurality of ejection port arrays in which a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink are arranged, ejection energy generating elements that impart ejection energy to the ink, and inter-row coefficient that is a coefficient for determining the distance between the ejection port arrays A control method of a recording apparatus comprising a recording head having a storage unit storing a distance coefficient, and an arithmetic processing unit storing a constant for recording control,
The arithmetic processing unit reading the inter-column distance coefficient from the storage unit;
Multiplying the inter-row distance coefficient by the constant to determine a distance between the discharge port rows;
Controlling the drive timing of the ejection energy generating elements of the ejection port array in order to deposit ink at a desired position on a recording medium corresponding to the distance between the ejection port arrays;
A control method for a recording apparatus comprising:   The method of controlling a recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the constant is a minimum recording pixel pitch that can be recorded on the recording medium.

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