JP2006231806A - Ink-jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of storing an optimum driving condition for driving an ink-jet recording device, based on combination of a head and an ink in a manner reducing the volume of information of the optimum driving condition, and to provide the ink-jet recording device which can correct manufacturing variations of the head and the ink. <P>SOLUTION: According to the ink-jet recording device, essential driving condition data is stored in a data storing means of the ink-jet head, and correction data is stored in a memory means of an ink cartridge, and therefore the optimum driving condition can be obtained by the combination between the head and the ink, based on both the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that is applied to, for example, a printer, a fax machine, and the like and ejects ink from nozzle openings.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus that records characters and images on a recording medium using an ink jet head that discharges ink from a plurality of nozzles is known. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with means for setting a driving condition such as a driving waveform and a driving voltage in the head, and an ink cartridge as an ink supply source, and is supplied from each nozzle based on print data from the outside. Discharge.

  The head needs to be controlled under optimal driving conditions in order to perform good ink ejection, but the optimal driving conditions differ depending on the type of head and the type of ink, so when replacing the head or ink cartridge In some cases, the driving conditions may be changed.

Since changing the driving conditions is complicated, a method has been devised in which a nonvolatile storage element storing driving conditions is mounted on an ink jet head or an ink cartridge, and the contents are read and set automatically.
JP 2004-082543 A JP-A-4-133746

  As described above, an ink jet recording apparatus in which a storage element is mounted on an ink jet head or an ink cartridge is useful because drive conditions can be set automatically.

  However, the optimum drive condition is not determined by the head alone or the ink alone, but the optimum drive condition is determined by the combination of the head structure and the ink characteristics. For example, since the nozzle diameter and the processing dimension of the actuator portion are different between a head with a small amount of ink droplet and a head with a large amount, the basic driving conditions are different. In addition, there are many inks for dealing with various printing media and environmental resistance, and the optimum driving conditions for these inks are also different. As the combination of the corresponding head type and the corresponding ink type increases, the amount of information for storing the optimum driving condition becomes enormous.

  In order to perform better ejection, even if the heads are of the same type, there are differences in their characteristics due to manufacturing variations. Therefore, it is necessary to set drive conditions suitable for individual heads so as to correct the variations. Similarly, manufacturing variations among lots also occur for ink, and it is necessary to set drive conditions suitable for each lot.

  The present invention provides a method for reducing and storing the information amount of the optimum driving condition depending on the combination of the head and the ink, and an ink jet recording apparatus capable of correcting manufacturing variations between the head and the ink. It is aimed.

  A first aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problems has a wiring board on which a driving circuit including a driving IC is mounted, and applies a driving voltage to an electrode provided on a side wall of a groove formed in a piezoelectric ceramic plate. An ink jet head that changes the volume in the groove and discharges the ink filled in the groove from the nozzle opening, a removable ink cartridge that contains the ink to be supplied to the ink jet head, and the drive circuit. In the ink jet recording apparatus comprising an external control circuit connected to the ink jet head, the ink jet head is provided with data storage means for storing driving condition data including driving condition data of the ink jet head, and the ink cartridge Depending on the type of ink contained, the inkjet head Data storage means for storing correction data for correcting the driving conditions is provided, and the external control circuit includes setting means for automatically setting the driving conditions of the inkjet head by reading the driving condition data and the correction data. An ink jet recording apparatus is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, when correction data is not provided in the ink cartridge, the driving condition of the inkjet head is set using only the driving condition data of the inkjet head. Inkjet recording apparatus.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the correction data of the ink cartridge has a smaller data amount than the driving condition data of the ink jet head.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the driving condition data of the inkjet head includes information on a basic pulse width of a driving voltage waveform, and the correction data of the ink cartridge includes a pulse for increasing or decreasing the basic pulse width by ink. The inkjet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, including width correction information, comprising: basic pulse width information; means for obtaining a corrected drive voltage waveform from the pulse width correction information; and setting means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the drive condition data for the inkjet head includes a basic drive voltage value, and the correction data for the ink cartridge includes a drive voltage correction value for increasing or decreasing the voltage value depending on the type of ink. The ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising means for obtaining a drive voltage value after correction from the basic drive voltage value and the drive voltage correction value, and a means for setting.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the inkjet head is provided with means for measuring the temperature of the ink filled therein, and the drive condition data of the inkjet head includes a drive voltage corresponding to the temperature of the basic ink. A conversion table of values, the correction data of the ink cartridge includes information for correcting the conversion table according to the type of ink, and the external control circuit reads the measured value of the temperature of the ink to determine the driving condition. The ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, comprising means for calculating a drive voltage value from the conversion table included in data and correction information included in the correction data, and means for setting.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, information on the basic pulse width included in the driving condition data of the ink jet head is individually set so as to correct manufacturing variations of individual ink jet heads, and the correction data of the ink cartridge is included in the correction data of the ink cartridge. In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the included pulse width correction information is individually set so as to correct ink manufacturing variations.

In an eighth aspect of the present invention, the drive voltage value included in the drive condition data of the inkjet head is individually set so as to correct manufacturing variations of individual inkjet heads,
In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the fifth aspect, drive voltage correction values included in the correction data of the ink cartridge are individually set so as to correct ink manufacturing variations.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the conversion table of the temperature and the driving voltage value included in the driving condition data of the inkjet head is individually set so as to correct the manufacturing variation of each inkjet head, and the ink cartridge The correction information in the conversion table included in the correction data is an ink jet recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect in which the correction information is individually set so as to correct ink manufacturing variation.

  As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention stores the basic driving condition data in the data storage means of the ink jet head and the correction data in the storage means of the ink cartridge. The optimum driving conditions can be determined by combining the ink cartridges, and since only the correction data with a small data amount is stored in the ink cartridge, the total information amount can be reduced and stored even if the combination of the head and the ink is enormous. I can do it. Since ink cartridges are frequently replaced, the small memory capacity used there is a great cost advantage.

  Further, for example, by storing the optimum driving condition in combination with the frequently used black ink in the storage unit of the head as a basic driving condition, the data storage unit is unnecessary for the black ink cartridge. In this case, the presence / absence of the storage means of the ink cartridge is determined. If there is no storage condition, the value of the drive condition stored in the head is set as it is. Is determined and set. By doing so, the data storage means is unnecessary for the black ink cartridge, and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, by storing the head driving condition data individually so as to correct the manufacturing variation of the inkjet head, the variation between the heads can be reduced. Similarly, by storing the correction data of the ink cartridge individually so as to correct the characteristic variation between the ink lots, the variation between the ink lots can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of ink jet heads 20 provided for each color, and a carriage 50 on which a plurality of ink jet heads 20 are mounted in parallel in the main scanning direction. And an ink cartridge 70 which is an ink storage means through an ink supply pipe 72 made of a flexible tube, and the carriage 50 is mounted on the pair of guide rails 51a and 51b so as to be movable in the axial direction. Further, a drive motor 52 is provided on one end side of the guide rails 51a and 51b, and a driving force by the drive motor 52 is generated by a pulley 53a connected to the drive motor 52 and the other ends of the guide rails 51a and 51b. It is moved along a timing belt 54 that is stretched between a pulley 53b provided on the side.

  A pair of transport rollers 55 and 56 are provided along the guide rails 51a and 51b on both end sides in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the carriage 50, respectively. These conveyance rollers 55 and 56 convey the recording medium 60 below the carriage 50 in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the carriage 50.

  Then, while the recording medium 60 is fed by the transport rollers 55 and 56, the carriage 50 is scanned in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction, whereby characters, images, and the like are recorded on the recording medium 60 by the inkjet head 20. .

  Each inkjet head 20 is a large type that ejects a single color ink. For example, in this embodiment, four color inks of black (B), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are used. Are mounted in parallel on the carriage 50.

  Each ink cartridge 70 filled with ink of each color applies a negative pressure to the inkjet head 20 at a position that does not interfere with the movement of the carriage 50 in the main scanning direction and the movement of the recording medium 60. In addition, it is provided at a position lower than the nozzle opening of the inkjet head 20 by a predetermined amount.

  Further, as will be described in detail later, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is provided with an external control circuit (not shown) having a function of setting a driving condition in the driving circuit of each ink jet head 20 and a function of transmitting print data and the like. Yes.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the inkjet head mounted in the inkjet recording apparatus described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inkjet head according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the drawing, the inkjet head 20 of the present embodiment includes a head chip 40, a flow path substrate 41 provided on one side of the head chip 40, a circuit board 30 on which a drive circuit for driving the head chip 40, and the like are mounted. These members are fixed to the base plate 60, respectively.

  A piezoelectric ceramic plate (not shown) constituting the head chip 40 has a plurality of grooves communicating with the nozzle openings, and electrodes are formed on the side walls of the grooves. One end of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 32 is connected to the electrode, and a drive circuit 31 on the wiring board 30 is connected to the other end of the FPC 32. The electrode and the drive circuit 31 are electrically connected to each other. linked. When the drive voltage output from the drive circuit 31 is applied to the electrode, the volume in the groove changes, and the ink filled therein is ejected from the nozzle opening.

  Further, an ink supply pipe 71 is connected to the inkjet head 20, and the ink supplied from the ink supply pipe 71 is an air damper 43 for reducing ink pressure fluctuation generated when the carriage 50 reciprocates, and a flow path substrate 41. And led to the head chip 40.

  Further, on the wiring board 30, as will be described in detail later, data storage means 33 storing basic drive conditions is provided.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 3, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 described above, in particular, the external control circuit and the data storage means will be described. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram showing a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes four ink jet heads 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, an external control circuit 80 connected to the ink jet head 20, and four color inks. Cartridges 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d are provided.

  Further, as described above, one inkjet head 20 includes the head chip 40 and the wiring substrate 30, and on the wiring substrate 30, a driving unit 31 including a driving IC connected to the head chip 30, and an inkjet Data storage means 33 storing basic drive condition data of the head 20 and temperature measuring means 34 capable of measuring the temperature of ink in the ink jet head are provided. The driving unit 31 has a function of driving the head chip 40 so as to eject ink droplets in accordance with print data input from an external control circuit. The drive is performed in accordance with the drive voltage and drive waveform set by the external control circuit.

  Further, each ink cartridge 70 is replaceable, and is provided with data storage means 71 in which correction data for correcting the basic driving condition is corrected according to the color of ink other than black, and data storage means 71 is provided for black. Absent.

  On the other hand, the external control circuit 80 is provided with a print data control means 81 that converts print data input from an external terminal such as a personal computer into a print data format suitable for the inkjet head 20 and performs ejection timing control and the like. Yes. Further, the basic drive condition data is read from the data storage means 33 provided in the ink jet head 20, and the correction data is read from the data storage means 71 provided in the ink cartridge 70, and the optimum drive condition data for the combination of the head and ink is calculated. An optimum drive condition calculating means 85 for performing the optimum drive condition storage means 86 for holding the obtained optimum drive condition data, and a drive condition setting means 82 for setting the head drive means 31 and the optimum drive condition. Yes.

  In order to explain specifically, in this embodiment, a drive waveform pulse and a drive voltage are described as drive conditions.

  The drive waveform pulse will be described. The data storage means 33 stores basic pulse width information based on the combination with the black ink, taking into account the manufacturing variation of each head, and the data storage means 71 other than black stores the pulse width due to the difference in ink color. Is stored in consideration of variations in ink manufacturing. Since the black ink cartridge does not require correction data, the data storage means 71 is not provided. The optimum driving condition calculation means obtains the optimum pulse width based on the combination of the head and the ink from the basic pulse width information in the data storage means 33 and the pulse width correction information in the data storage means 71, and stores this in the optimum driving condition storage means 86. Keep it. In the case of black, the contents of the data storage means 33 mounted on the black head are stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86 as they are. When setting the drive waveform, the drive waveform setting means 83 reads the optimum pulse width of each color from the optimum drive condition storage means 86 and sets it in each inkjet head 20.

  Next, the drive voltage will be described. The data storage means 33 stores an ink temperature-driving voltage conversion table based on black ink in consideration of the manufacturing variation of each head, and the data storage means 71 corrects the conversion table based on the difference in ink color. The correction information is stored in consideration of ink manufacturing variations. The optimum driving condition calculation unit 85 obtains an optimum conversion table for the combination of the head and the ink from the conversion table in the data storage unit 33 and the correction information in the data storage unit 71, and stores this in the optimum driving condition storage unit 86. . However, in the case of black in which the data storage means 71 is not provided, the contents of the data storage means 33 mounted on the black head are stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86 as they are. When setting the drive voltage, the drive voltage setting means 84 reads the ink temperature from the temperature measurement means 33 of each head, and from the optimum ink temperature-drive voltage conversion table for each color stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86. Each inkjet head 20 is set with reference to each drive voltage value.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 4, the procedure in which the drive condition setting means 82 sets the drive condition in the inkjet head 20 will be described. FIG. 4 is a chart showing the procedure for setting the drive conditions for the inkjet head.

  As shown in FIG. 4, first, the inkjet head 20 and the ink cartridge are attached to the inkjet recording apparatus 10 (step S1). In the present embodiment, four inkjet heads 20 are attached to the carriage 50 described above, and ink cartridges are attached with four colors of black (B), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). Further, the storage means 33 is not provided only for the black ink cartridge that is frequently used.

  Next, a power supply (not shown) of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is turned on (step S2). As a result, the optimum drive condition calculation means 85 reads the basic drive condition stored in the data storage means 33 (step S3), and further reads the correction data stored in the data storage means 71 (step S4). The optimum drive condition is calculated (step S5), and the obtained optimum drive condition is stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86 (step S6). The processing from step S3 to S6 is performed for each color. In step S4, the black ink for which the data storage unit 71 does not exist is stored in the optimum drive condition storage unit 86 as it is without correcting the basic drive conditions stored in the data storage unit 33. Next, the drive waveform setting means 83 reads out information related to the optimum drive waveform from the data stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86, and automatically sets the drive waveform in each inkjet head 20 (step S7).

  Thereafter, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 monitors whether the ink cartridge 70 has been replaced (step S8) and monitors whether the printing operation is started (step S9) until the power is turned off.

  If the ink cartridge 70 has been replaced in step S8, steps S3 to S7 are executed again in order to change the optimum drive condition for ink, the optimum drive condition is obtained again, and the drive waveform is set again.

  When the printing operation is started in step S9, it waits for printing data for one scan to be input from the external terminal (step S10), and a drive voltage corresponding to the ink temperature is given to the inkjet head 20 for each scan (step S10). S11, S12, S13), and then printing is performed (step S14). For setting the drive voltage, the drive voltage setting means 84 reads the ink temperature of each color from the temperature measurement means 34 (step S11), and each temperature at this time is determined from the temperature-drive voltage conversion table stored in the optimum drive condition storage means 86. The optimum driving voltage of the head is referred to (step S12), and the driving voltage is set for each head (step S13). Since the ink temperature changes even during the printing operation, it is necessary to perform steps S11, S12, and S13 for each one-scan printing. After printing for one scan, it is determined whether the printing operation is completed (step S15). If printing is to be continued, steps S10 to S14 are repeated.

  As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the data storage means 33 storing the basic drive condition data is provided in the ink jet head 20, and the data storage means 71 storing the ink correction data in the ink cartridge 70. Therefore, it is possible to set an optimum driving condition depending on the combination of each head and ink, and the data storage means 71 provided in the ink cartridge 70 stores only correction data with a small amount of information. As a result, the memory capacity of the data storage means 71 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the driving pulse and the driving voltage are described. However, basic driving conditions are stored in the data storage unit 33 of the inkjet head 20, and the driving conditions depending on the type of ink are stored in the data storage unit 71 of the ink cartridge 70. Other driving conditions may be used as long as the correction value is stored. Further, in the present embodiment, the correction data stored in the data storage means 71 is correction information based on the difference in ink color. However, other information may be used as long as it corrects conditions between inks such as different types of ink. It doesn't matter.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view of the inkjet head which concerns on this embodiment 1 is a control block diagram for explaining a control system of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting drive conditions in the inkjet head according to the embodiment of the invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inkjet recording apparatus 20 Inkjet head 30 Inkjet head wiring board 33 Data storage means provided in inkjet head 34 Temperature measurement means 70 Ink cartridge 71 Data storage means provided in ink cartridge 72 Ink supply pipe 80 External control circuit 82 Drive condition setting means 85 Optimal drive condition calculation means 86 Optimal drive condition storage means

Claims (9)

A wiring board having a driving circuit including a driving IC is mounted, and the volume in the groove is changed by applying a driving voltage to an electrode provided on a side wall of the groove formed in the piezoelectric ceramic plate. An ink jet head that discharges ink filled inside from a nozzle opening;
A removable ink cartridge containing ink to be supplied to the inkjet head;
In the ink jet recording apparatus comprising an external control circuit connected to the drive circuit, the ink jet head is provided with storage means for storing basic drive condition data of the ink jet head,
The ink cartridge is provided with storage means for storing correction data for correcting basic driving conditions of the ink jet head according to the type of ink contained therein.
An ink jet characterized in that the external control circuit is provided with means for reading the basic drive condition data and the correction data to obtain an optimum drive condition for the ink jet head, and means for automatically setting the obtained drive condition. Type recording device.   2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the ink cartridge is not provided with a storage means, the ink jet head driving condition is set using only the ink jet head basic driving condition data.   2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction data is smaller in the basic drive condition data of the ink jet head and the corresponding correction data of the ink cartridge. The basic driving condition data of the inkjet head includes information on the basic pulse width of the driving voltage waveform,
The correction data for the ink cartridge includes pulse width correction information for adjusting the basic pulse width depending on the type of ink,
2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for obtaining a drive voltage waveform after correction from said basic pulse width information and said pulse width correction information, and means for setting. The basic driving condition data of the inkjet head includes a basic driving voltage value,
The correction data for the ink cartridge includes a drive voltage correction value for increasing or decreasing a voltage value depending on the type of ink, and means for obtaining a corrected drive voltage value from the basic drive voltage value and the drive voltage correction value; 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting. The inkjet head is provided with means for measuring the temperature of the ink filled in the head,
The basic drive condition data of the inkjet head includes a conversion table of the temperature and the corresponding drive voltage value for the basic ink,
The correction data for the ink cartridge includes information for correcting the conversion table depending on the type of ink,
The external control circuit comprises: a means for reading a temperature measurement value of the ink, and a means for determining a drive voltage value from the conversion table included in the drive condition data and the correction information included in the correction data. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to 1. The basic pulse width information included in the basic drive condition data of the inkjet head is set in the storage means so as to correct the manufacturing variation of the head,
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pulse width correction information included in the correction data of the ink cartridge is individually set so as to correct ink manufacturing variation. The drive voltage value included in the basic drive condition data of the inkjet head is individually set so as to correct manufacturing variations of individual inkjet heads,
6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drive voltage correction value included in the correction data of the ink cartridge is individually set so as to correct ink manufacturing variations. The conversion table of the temperature and the drive voltage value included in the drive condition data of the inkjet head is individually set to correct the manufacturing variation of each inkjet head,
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the correction information of the conversion table included in the correction data of the ink cartridge is individually set so as to correct an ink manufacturing variation.

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