JP2007253618A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus which performs ink discharge in the condition that the viscosity increase of the ink near the nozzle is avoided. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recording apparatus includes an control part which controls the printing and movement. A printing signal feed zone included in a control part feeds a serial printing signal in which a first reserve oscillatory waveform signal is assigned during the time S1 to a driver IC when the time S1 from the printing start time T0 to the time T1 in which a delivery waveform signal relating to a first ink delivery at a nozzle is fed is more than the predetermined time Tw1. In addition, a driver IC converts a serial printing signal into a parallel signal, generates a delivery voltage pulse train signal and a preliminary oscillating voltage pulse train signal and feeds them to an individual electrode 35. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs printing by discharging ink onto a recording medium.

  The ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a first drive waveform for ejecting ink droplets from nozzles as a drive waveform output to individual electrodes, and a second for vibrating a meniscus without ejecting ink droplets from nozzles. Drive waveform generating means for generating either of the drive waveforms is provided. In the ink jet recording apparatus, during printing, the number of times the ejection timing signal is input is counted, and the second drive waveform is periodically applied to individual electrodes corresponding to nozzles that do not vibrate meniscus and eject ink droplets for a certain period of time. Is output and the meniscus is vibrated. Further, the second drive waveform is output immediately before the start of printing, and the meniscus is vibrated. This prevents thickening of the ink during printing and immediately before the start of printing.

JP-A-2005-14367

  However, in the ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, immediately before the start of printing, the nozzles that discharge ink in the current printing, the nozzles that do not discharge ink, and the individual electrodes corresponding to all the nozzles are the first ones. It is unclear whether 2 drive waveforms are output. Further, although it is described that the meniscus is vibrated immediately before the start of printing, it is not specified which timing is the start of printing. Temporarily, the output of the second drive waveform is performed on the nozzles that eject ink or on individual electrodes corresponding to all nozzles, and the timing when printing starts is when the drive signal is input from the control means to the drive circuit. In this case, if the time from the start of printing until the ink droplets are actually ejected from the nozzles is long, the effect of suppressing the increase in the viscosity of ink becomes small, and the ink ejection from the nozzles is not stable.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of ejecting ink in a state where the thickening of ink in a nozzle is eliminated.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes an ink discharge surface on which a plurality of nozzles are formed, a plurality of pressure chambers respectively communicating with the nozzles, a first state in which the volume of the pressure chamber is V1, and the pressure chambers A plurality of actuators capable of taking two states of a second state in which the volume is V2 larger than V1, and an inkjet head that performs printing by moving relative to a recording medium; An ejection pulse signal for ejecting ink from the nozzle by appropriately switching between the states, and a vibration for vibrating the ink in the nozzle without ejecting ink from the nozzle while appropriately switching the actuator between the two states An actuator controller for supplying a pulse signal to the actuator, That. Then, the actuator control means performs n ink discharges based on the print data from the print start time T0 when at least a part of the recording medium starts to face the ink discharge surface in the ink discharge direction from the nozzles. n: Arbitrary natural number) Time Si (i = 1, 1) until Ti (i = 1, 2,... n) when the ejection pulse signal is first supplied to the actuator corresponding to each of the nozzles 2,... N) is equal to or longer than the predetermined time Tw1, the vibration pulse signal is supplied to each of the actuators during the time Si.

  According to the present invention, when the vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator, the ink in the nozzle is vibrated and agitated. The vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator during a time Si in which a part of the recording medium faces the ink ejection surface. Since the ejection pulse signal is supplied relatively shortly after the vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator, the ink can be ejected from the nozzle in a state where the thickening of the ink in the nozzle has been eliminated. Stabilization is realized.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printer 1 is a line type color inkjet printer having four inkjet heads 2 fixed. Each inkjet head 2 has an elongated shape in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. The printer 1 is provided with a paper feeding unit 114 in the lower part of the figure, a paper receiving part 116 in the upper part of the figure, and a transport unit 120 in the center of the figure. The printer 1 includes a controller 100 that controls operations of the paper feeding unit 114, the paper receiving unit 116, and the transport unit 120. The control unit 100 controls driving of the inkjet head 2 via a driver IC 80 (see FIG. 6).

  The paper feed unit 114 includes a paper storage unit 115 that stores the stacked rectangular papers P, and a paper supply roller 145 that feeds the uppermost paper P in the paper storage unit 115 toward the transport unit 120 one by one. Have. The paper storage unit 115 stores the paper P so as to be sent out in a direction parallel to the long side. Two pairs of feed rollers 118a and 118b and 119a and 119b are arranged between the paper feed unit 114 and the transport unit 120 along the transport path of the paper P. The paper P sent out from the paper supply unit 114 is sent to the upper side in FIG. 1 by the feed rollers 118a and 118b with one short side as the leading end, and then sent toward the transport unit 120 by the feed rollers 119a and 119b. .

  The transport unit 120 includes an endless transport belt 111 and two belt rollers 136 and 137 around which the transport belt 111 is wound. The length of the conveyor belt 111 is adjusted so that a predetermined tension is generated in the conveyor belt 111. The conveyor belt 111 is wound around two belt rollers 136 and 137, thereby forming two parallel planes including common tangent lines of the belt rollers 136 and 137, respectively. Of the two planes, the one facing the inkjet head 2 becomes the transport surface 127 of the paper P. The paper P sent out from the paper supply unit 114 is transported on the transport surface 127, and is printed on the upper surface by the inkjet head 2, and then reaches the paper receiving unit 116. In the paper receiving unit 116, the printed paper P is placed so as to overlap.

  The four inkjet heads 2 are arranged close to each other along the transport path of the paper P, that is, along the left-right direction on the paper surface of FIG. Each inkjet head 2 has a head body 13 at the lower end. The head body 13 includes a flow path unit 4 in which a large number of individual ink flow paths 32 (see FIG. 4) are formed, and four actuator units 21 bonded to the upper surface of the flow path unit 4 via an adhesive. Each individual ink flow path 32 has one nozzle 8 and one pressure chamber 10 communicating with the nozzle 8. The actuator unit 21 applies pressure to the ink in the desired pressure chamber 10. Each actuator unit 21 is attached with an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) (not shown) for supplying an ejection pulse signal and a vibration pulse signal described later.

  A large number of nozzles 8 having a minute diameter are provided on the bottom surface of each head body 13, that is, the ink ejection surface 13a (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The ink colors ejected from the nozzles 8 are any one of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black. From the four head bodies 13, inks of different colors selected from the four colors magenta, yellow, cyan, and black are obtained. Discharged.

  A slight gap is formed between the ink discharge surface 13 a and the conveyance surface 127 of the conveyance belt 111. The paper P is transported from right to left in FIG. 1 along a transport path passing through the gap. When the paper P sequentially passes through the gap, ink is ejected from the nozzles 8 toward the upper surface of the paper P, so that a color image based on the image data is formed on the paper P.

  The belt roller 136 is connected to the transport motor 174. When the transport motor 174 is driven based on the control of the control unit 100, the driving force is transmitted to the belt roller 136, and the belt roller 136 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Then, the conveyance belt 111 travels, and the paper P placed on the conveyance belt 111 is conveyed. The belt roller 137 is a driven roller that is rotated by a rotational force applied from the transport belt 111 as the belt roller 136 rotates.

  In the vicinity of the belt roller 137, a nip roller 138 and a nip receiving roller 139 are arranged so as to sandwich the conveyance belt 111. The nip roller 138 is biased downward by a spring (not shown) so as to press the paper P supplied to the transport unit 120 against the transport surface 127. The nip roller 138 and the nip receiving roller 139 sandwich the paper P together with the transport belt 111. The outer peripheral surface 113 of the transport belt 111 is treated with adhesive silicon rubber, and the paper P is securely attached to the transport surface 127.

  A peeling plate 140 is provided on the left side of the transport unit 120 in FIG. The peeling plate 140 peels the paper P from the transport surface 127 when the right end of the peeling plate 140 enters between the paper P and the transport belt 111.

  Two pairs of feed rollers 121a and 121b and 122a and 122b are arranged between the transport unit 120 and the paper receiving portion 116. The paper P peeled off by the peeling plate 140 is sent upward in FIG. 1 by the feed rollers 121a and 121b, and further sent to the paper receiver 116 by the feed rollers 122a and 122b.

  A paper surface sensor 133 is disposed between the nip roller 138 and the inkjet head 2 located on the most upstream side. The paper surface sensor 133 is an optical sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and detects the leading edge of the paper P on the transport path. The detection signal output from the paper surface sensor 133 is sent to the control unit 100 and used to form an image in synchronization with the conveyance of the paper P.

  Next, details of the head body 13 will be described. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the head main body 13 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a one-dot chain line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the actuator units 21 are each trapezoidal, and are arranged in two rows in a staggered manner on the upper surface of the flow path unit 4. More specifically, each actuator unit 21 is arranged so that its parallel opposing sides, that is, the upper side and the lower side, are along the longitudinal direction of the flow path unit 4. The oblique sides of the adjacent actuator units 21 overlap in the width direction of the flow path unit 4.

  A pressure chamber group 9 composed of a large number of pressure chambers 10 is formed in the adhesion region of each actuator unit 21 on the upper surface of the flow path unit 4. A large number of nozzles 8 are arranged in a matrix on the lower surface of the flow path unit 4, that is, on the ink discharge surface 13a, in the region corresponding to the adhesion region. Each nozzle 8 communicates with a corresponding pressure chamber 10. Thus, the area facing the actuator unit 21 on the ink ejection surface 13a is an ink ejection area in which a large number of nozzles 8 are formed.

  In the flow path unit 4, a manifold flow path 5 and a sub-manifold flow path 5a which is a branch flow path are formed. The manifold channel 5 extends along the oblique side of the actuator unit 21 and branches into a plurality of sub-manifold channels 5b. The sub-manifold 5 a is branched from both sides of one manifold channel 5. Four sub-manifold channels 5 a extending in the longitudinal direction of the channel unit 4 are opposed to one ink ejection region. An opening 5 b communicating with the manifold channel 5 is provided on the upper surface of the channel unit 4 so as to avoid the actuator unit 21. Ink is supplied from an ink tank (not shown) to the manifold channel 5 and the sub-manifold channel 5a through the opening 5b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure chambers 10 constituting the pressure chamber group 9 are adjacently arranged in a matrix in two directions of the arrangement direction A and the arrangement direction B. The arrangement direction A is the longitudinal direction of the flow path unit 4 and is parallel to the shorter diagonal line of the pressure chamber 10 having a substantially rhombus shape. The arrangement direction B forms an obtuse angle θ with the arrangement direction A and is parallel to one oblique side of the pressure chamber 10. In the pressure chamber group 9, the acute angle portion of the pressure chamber 10 is located between two adjacent pressure chambers 10. Sixteen pressure chambers 10 are arranged along the arrangement direction B at a distance corresponding to 37.5 dpi along the arrangement direction A. The pressure chambers 11 are regularly arranged in the arrangement direction A at regular intervals to form a pressure chamber row 11, and the 16 pressure chamber rows 11 arranged in parallel to each other constitute a pressure chamber group 9. Such an arrangement of the pressure chambers 10 enables image formation with a resolution of 600 dpi as a whole. When viewed from the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3, the pressure chamber row 11 has a first pressure chamber row 11a, a second pressure chamber row 11b, It is divided into a pressure chamber row 11c and a fourth pressure chamber row 11d. The first to fourth pressure chamber rows 11a to 11d are periodically arranged in the order of 11c, 11d, 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, ..., 11b from the upper side to the lower side of the actuator unit 21. .

  The nozzles 8 communicating with the pressure chambers 10a constituting the first pressure chamber row 11a and the pressure chambers 10b constituting the second pressure chamber row 11b are arranged in the arrangement direction A as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. With respect to the orthogonal direction, it is unevenly distributed on the lower side of the sheet of FIG. 3 and is located near the lower end of the corresponding pressure chamber 10. The nozzles 8 communicating with the pressure chambers 10c constituting the third pressure chamber row 11c and the pressure chambers 10d constituting the fourth pressure chamber row 11d are unevenly distributed on the upper side of the drawing in FIG. These are located near the upper end of the corresponding pressure chamber 10. More than half of the pressure chambers 10a and 10d constituting the first and fourth pressure chamber rows 11a and 11d overlap the sub-manifold flow path 5a when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Almost all the regions of the pressure chambers 10b and 10c constituting the second and third pressure chamber rows 11b and 11c do not overlap with the sub-manifold channel 5a when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. That is, the sub-manifold channel 5a is formed by effectively using the width formed by the two adjacent pressure chamber rows 11a and 11d. Therefore, the nozzle 8 communicating with any of the pressure chambers 10a to 10d does not overlap the sub-manifold flow channel 5a, and the width of the sub-manifold channel 5a is made as wide as possible so that ink is supplied to each pressure chamber 10a to 10d. It can be supplied smoothly.

  In each ink ejection region, the nozzles 8 form 16 nozzle rows 18 extending in the longitudinal direction of the flow path unit 4. The nozzle rows 18 are arranged corresponding to the pressure chamber rows 11, respectively, and the first nozzle row 18a, the second nozzle row 18b, and the third nozzle row 18c depending on the positional relationship with the sub-manifold flow path 5a. And the fourth nozzle row 18d. The first to fourth nozzle rows 18a to 18d are arranged in the order of 18c, 18d, 18a, 18c, 18b, 18d, ..., 18b, 18d, 18a, 18b from the upper side to the lower side of the actuator unit 21. Has been placed. At the center of the arrangement, the order of the nozzle rows 18b and 18c corresponding to the pressure chamber rows 11b and 11c is determined as follows because the acute angle portion of the pressure chamber 10 is sandwiched between the adjacent pressure chambers 10 as described above. The order of 11 has changed. In plan view, the third and fourth nozzle rows 18c and 18d are disposed on the upper side and the first and second nozzle rows 18a and 18b are disposed on the lower side across the sub manifold channel 5a. The nozzle rows 18c, 18d, 18a, 18b sandwiching one sub-manifold channel 5a share the sub-manifold channel 5a, and the nozzles 8 included in the nozzle rows 18a to 18d are the pressure chamber 10 and the aperture 12 that is a throttle, respectively. And communicates with the sub-manifold channel 5a (see FIG. 4). In FIG. 3, in order to make the drawing easy to understand, the actuator unit 21 is drawn by a two-dot chain line, and the pressure chamber 10, the aperture 12, and the nozzle 8 that are to be drawn by a broken line below the actuator unit 21 are shown by solid lines. I'm drawing.

  The nozzle 8 is formed at a position where projection points obtained by projecting the nozzle 8 from a direction perpendicular to the virtual line on a virtual line extending in the longitudinal direction of the flow path unit 4 are arranged at equal intervals of 600 dpi.

  Next, the cross-sectional structure of the head body 13 will be described. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged plan view of the actuator unit 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the flow path unit 4 includes a cavity plate 22, a base plate 23, an aperture plate 24, a supply plate 25, manifold plates 26, 27, and 28, a cover plate 29, and a nozzle plate 30 stacked from the top. Have a laminated structure. All of the plates 22 to 30 are made of metal.

  In the flow path unit 4, an ink flow path is formed until ink supplied from the outside is ejected from the nozzle 8. The ink flow path includes a manifold flow path 5 and a sub manifold flow path 5a for temporarily storing ink, a large number of individual ink flow paths 32 from the outlet of the sub manifold flow path 5a to the nozzles 8 and the like. Each of the plates 22 to 30 is formed with a recess or a hole that is a component of the ink flow path.

  The cavity plate 22 is formed with a large number of approximately rhomboid holes that serve as the pressure chambers 10. The base plate 23 is formed with a communication hole for communicating each pressure chamber 10 and the corresponding aperture 12 and a communication hole for communicating each pressure chamber 10 and the corresponding nozzle 8. The aperture plate 24 is formed with holes to be the apertures 12 and communication holes for communicating the pressure chambers 10 with the corresponding nozzles 8. The supply plate 25 is formed with a communication hole for communicating each aperture 12 with the sub-manifold channel 5a and a communication hole for communicating each pressure chamber 10 with the corresponding nozzle 8. The manifold plates 26, 27, and 28 are formed with holes serving as the sub-manifold channel 5 a and communication holes for communicating each pressure chamber 10 with the corresponding nozzle 8. The cover plate 29 is formed with a communication hole for communicating each pressure chamber 10 with the corresponding nozzle 8. The nozzle plate 30 has a large number of holes to be the nozzles 8. These nine metal plates are stacked in alignment with each other so that the individual ink flow paths 32 are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the actuator unit 21 includes four piezoelectric sheets 41, 42, 43, and 44 stacked on each other. Each of the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 has a thickness of about 15 μm, and the actuator unit 21 has a thickness of about 60 μm. Any of the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 straddles a large number of pressure chambers 10 constituting one pressure chamber group 9. The piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are made of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic material having ferroelectricity.

  On the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 41, individual electrodes 35 having a thickness of about 1 μm are formed. As shown in FIG. 5, the individual electrode 35 has a substantially rhombic planar shape, and is formed so as to face the pressure chamber 10 and to be mostly contained in the pressure chamber 10 in plan view. . Therefore, on the uppermost piezoelectric sheet 41, a large number of individual electrodes 35 are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix over almost the entire area. Between the piezoelectric sheet 41 and the lower piezoelectric sheet 42, a common electrode 34 having a thickness of about 2 μm formed on the entire surface of the sheet is interposed. Both the individual electrode 35 and the common electrode 34 are made of, for example, a metal material such as an Ag—Pd system. As shown in FIG. 4, a portion where the individual electrode 35 is disposed in the actuator unit 21 corresponds to a pressure generating portion J that applies pressure to the ink in the pressure chamber 10, that is, an actuator. That is, in the actuator unit 21, an individual actuator is built for each pressure chamber 10. The actuator unit 21 is a so-called unimorph type in which only the piezoelectric sheet 41 as the uppermost layer includes an active portion that generates piezoelectric strain by an external electric field, and the other piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 are inactive layers.

  As shown in FIG. 5, one acute angle portion of the individual electrode 35 extends to the outside of the pressure chamber 10, and a land 36 is formed on the vicinity of the tip of the extended portion. The land 36 is located on the partition wall 22 a (see FIG. 4) of the cavity plate 22, that is, on the portion of the cavity plate 22 where the pressure chamber 10 is not formed and bonded to the actuator unit 21. That is, the land 36 is formed at a position that does not overlap the pressure chamber 10 in the thickness direction of the actuator unit 21. The land 36 is electrically connected to a contact of an FPC (not shown). The land 36 has a circular outer shape, and has a thickness of about 15 μm and a diameter of about 160 μm. The land 36 is made of gold including glass frit, for example.

  The common electrode 34 is grounded in a region (not shown), and is kept at the same ground potential in the region facing all the pressure chambers 10. The individual electrode 35 is electrically connected to a driver IC 80 (see FIG. 6) via an FPC (not shown) including an independent wiring for each individual electrode 35 so that the potential can be individually controlled. A surface electrode is formed on the piezoelectric sheet 41 so as to avoid the group of individual electrodes 35. The surface electrode is electrically connected to the common electrode 34 through the through hole, and is connected to a wiring different from the wiring of the individual electrode 35 in the FPC.

  Next, a method for driving the actuator unit 21 will be described. The polarization direction of the piezoelectric sheet 41 in the actuator unit 21 is the thickness direction. As described above, the actuator unit 21 uses the upper piezoelectric sheet 41 away from the pressure chamber 10 as a layer in which the active portion is present, and inactivates the lower three piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 close to the pressure chamber 10. It is a so-called unimorph type layer. Accordingly, when the individual electrode 35 is set to a positive potential in which the electric field direction and the polarization direction are the same, the portion sandwiched between the electrodes 34 and 35 in the piezoelectric sheet 41 functions as an active portion, and is perpendicular to the polarization direction by the piezoelectric lateral effect. Shrink in the direction. Since the other piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 are not affected by the electric field, they are not spontaneously shrunk. As a result, there is a difference in distortion in the direction perpendicular to the polarization direction between the piezoelectric sheet 41 and the piezoelectric sheets 42 to 44 below the piezoelectric sheet 41, and the entire piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so as to protrude downward. Try to (unimorph deformation). Here, as shown in FIG. 4, since the lower surfaces of the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are fixed on the partition wall 22a of the cavity plate 22, as a result, the portions corresponding to the active portions in the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are pressure chambers. It is deformed so as to be convex toward 10. As a result, the volume of the pressure chamber 10 decreases, and the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 increases. When the individual electrode 35 has a negative potential in which the electric field direction and the polarization direction are reversed, the portion corresponding to the active portion in the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 is deformed so as to protrude upward, and the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 is increased. Falls.

  The individual electrode 35 is set to a positive potential in advance, and the individual electrode 35 is set to a negative potential every time an ejection request is made. Thereafter, the individual electrode 35 is set to a positive potential again at a predetermined timing. In this case, in the initial state, that is, in the state where the individual electrode 35 is at a positive potential, the portions corresponding to the active portions in the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so as to protrude toward the pressure chamber 10. At the timing when the individual electrode 35 becomes a negative potential, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 become flat, the volume of the pressure chamber 10 increases compared to the initial state, and the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 decreases. Ink is sucked from the sub-manifold channel 5 b into the individual ink channel 32. Thereafter, at the timing when the individual electrode 35 is set to a positive potential again, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so that the portion corresponding to the active portion is convex toward the pressure chamber 10. As a result, the volume of the pressure chamber 10 decreases, the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 increases, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 8. Such a discharge method is generally called “strike”. In order to eject ink from the nozzle 8, the positive potential and the negative potential must have a predetermined potential difference.

  The individual electrode 35 is supplied with an ejection pulse signal composed of a group of rectangular waves. When the width of the rectangular wave included in the signal is equal to the time length AL (Acoustic Length) from the outlet of the sub-manifold channel 5a to the nozzle 8, the strong pressure or fast speed Ink is discharged. In the present embodiment, the pressure generating portion J is located near the center of the individual ink flow path 32, and the time from when the individual electrode 35 is set to a negative potential to the positive potential, that is, the width of the rectangular wave, is expressed by the pressure chamber 10. The time required for the negative pressure wave generated in step (b) to reversely reflect in the vicinity of the sub-manifold channel 5a and return to the pressure chamber 10, that is, a value close to AL.

  The gradation is expressed by the volume of ink adjusted by the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzle 8. One dot on the paper is formed by one or a plurality of ink droplets ejected continuously. When a plurality of ink droplets are ejected continuously, the interval between pulses supplied to eject the ink droplets is defined as AL. Thereby, the peak of the residual pressure wave of the pressure applied for the ink droplet ejected first coincides with the peak of the pressure wave of the pressure applied for the ink droplet ejected later. For this reason, the two pressure waves are superimposed and amplified, and the ejection speed of the ink droplet ejected later becomes faster than the ejection speed of the ink droplet ejected earlier. Therefore, the ink droplets ejected later catch up with the previously ejected ink droplets and collide with each other in the air, and become integrated with the previously ejected ink droplets.

  Here, the control of the actuator unit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 100 is a central processing unit (CPU) that is an arithmetic processing unit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a program executed by the CPU and data used for the program, and temporarily stores data when the program is executed. RAM (Random Access Memory: both not shown) and the like, and each part described below is constructed by these.

  The control unit 100 includes a print control unit 101 and an operation control unit 102. The operation control unit 102 is based on image data and operation data relating to printing transmitted from a paper surface sensor 133 or a PC (Personal Computer) 135, and a motor for driving the paper feed roller 145, feed rollers 118a, 118b, 119a, and 119b. , 121a, 121b, 122a, 122b, and a drive motor 174 and the like are controlled. Since the paper surface sensor 133 is separated from the ink jet head 2 located upstream, the paper P does not face the ink jet head 2 when the paper surface sensor 133 detects the leading edge of the paper P. However, the positional relationship between the paper surface sensor 133 and the inkjet head 2 is fixed, that is, the separation distance between them is fixed. Accordingly, the print control unit 101 considers the separation distance between the paper surface sensor 133 and the inkjet head 2 at the most upstream based on the detection signal output to the control unit 100 when the paper surface sensor 133 detects the leading edge of the paper P. However, control is performed so that the time point when the paper P starts to face the most upstream ink jet head 2 becomes the print start time point. That is, the printing control unit 101 starts printing on the sheet P when the operation control unit 102 controls the conveyance of the sheet P and the sheet P starts to face the ink jet head 2 at the most upstream. Control is performed as follows.

  The print control unit 101 includes an image data storage unit 103, a print signal generation unit 104, and a print signal supply unit 107. The image data storage unit 103 stores image data related to printing transmitted from the PC 135. The print signal generation unit 104 includes an ejection waveform generation unit 105 and a preliminary vibration waveform generation unit 106.

  The discharge waveform generation unit 105 includes a first waveform generation unit 105a, a second waveform generation unit 105b, a third waveform generation unit 105c, and a fourth waveform generation unit 105d. The first to fourth waveform generation units 105a to 105d can generate ejection waveform signals representing different gradations. The first to fourth waveform generators 105a to 105d will be described in detail later, but the first to fourth pressure chamber rows 11a are connected to the first to fourth nozzle rows 18a to 18d, respectively. Corresponding to ˜11d, the generated ejection waveform signal is supplied to each actuator (individual electrode 35). The four graphs shown in FIG. 7 are examples of ejection waveform signals generated by the four waveform generation units 105a to 105d, respectively. As will be described later, each discharge waveform signal generated by the first to fourth waveform generation units 105a to 105d is a delay circuit in the print signal supply unit 107 for a different time for each of the four sub-manifold channels 5a. By being delayed, the four signals are out of phase with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 7, each ejection waveform signal is a group of concave rectangular waves, and is calculated from four levels of ink ejection amounts (including no ejection) determined based on the gradation data included in the image data. The number of ink droplets to be determined and the phase and period of the waveform pattern. Specifically, the waveform pattern is a rectangular wave having a width of AL (about 7 μsec) determined by the falling timing and the rising timing, and the number corresponding to the number (1 to 3) of ink droplets to be ejected. A rectangular wave which is continuous at intervals of AL and has a width half of AL is added. The last rectangular wave cancels the pressure remaining in the pressure chamber 10.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first to fourth waveform generation units 105 a to 105 d generate ejection waveform signals having different phases from each other. Specifically, the phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the second waveform generation unit 105b is half the pulse width AL, that is, about the phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the first ejection waveform generation unit 105a. There is a delay of 3.5 μsec. The phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the third waveform generation unit 105c is delayed by half of AL with respect to the phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the second waveform generation unit 105b. The phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the fourth waveform generation unit 105d is delayed by half of AL with respect to the phase of the ejection waveform signal generated by the third waveform generation unit 105c. The two graphs from the top in FIG. 7 are when the number of ejected ink droplets is 3, the third graph from the top is when the number of ejected ink droplets is 2, and the bottom graph is the ejected ink. Examples where the number of drops is 1 are shown. However, any of the waveform generation units 105a to 105d can generate an ejection waveform signal in each case where the number of ink droplets is 1 to 3.

  The preliminary vibration waveform generation unit 106 generates a first preliminary vibration waveform signal and a second preliminary vibration waveform signal as preliminary vibration waveform signals that vibrate and stir the ink in the nozzles 8 without ejecting ink from the nozzles 8. FIG. 8 shows a basic waveform of the preliminary vibration waveform signal generated by the preliminary vibration waveform generation unit 106. As shown in FIG. 8, the preliminary vibration waveform signal is a group of concave rectangular waves, like the ejection waveform signal, and is determined by the phase and period of the waveform pattern. The basic waveform includes five micro-vibration pulses that generate micro-vibration within one printing cycle. The printing cycle means the time required for the paper to be conveyed by a unit distance corresponding to the printing resolution. The width of each fine vibration pulse is 1 μsec, which is smaller than the width of AL. Five micro-vibration pulses continue at intervals of 4 μsec. For example, when driven at 20 kHz, the printing cycle of 1 is 50 μsec, five micro-vibration pulses continue from the beginning of the printing cycle to 25 μsec, and during the remaining 25 μsec, it is in a resting state, that is, at a positive potential. It will be held. The first preliminary vibration waveform signal is obtained by continuing 50 basic waveforms shown in FIG. That is, according to the first preliminary vibration waveform signal, the minute vibration is performed 250 times, and the duration of the vibration is 2.5 msec. The second preliminary vibration waveform signal is obtained by continuing 30 basic waveforms shown in FIG. That is, according to the second preliminary vibration waveform signal, the micro-vibration is performed 150 times, and the duration of vibration is 1.5 msec. In a piezoelectric actuator, a transient time is generated from when a voltage is applied until the actuator completes deformation. In this embodiment, the transient time is longer than 1 μsec. Therefore, by setting the width of the fine vibration pulse included in the preliminary vibration waveform signal to 1 μsec, the polarity of the voltage is changed before the deformation amount of the actuator reaches the ink discharge, and the ink is not discharged from the nozzle 8. The ink in the nozzle 8 only vibrates.

  Based on the image data, the print signal supply unit 107 assigns one of the discharge waveform signals shown in FIG. 7 to each actuator in each print cycle except when there is no discharge, and further satisfies the predetermined condition. The first preliminary vibration waveform signal or the second preliminary vibration waveform signal is assigned to. The print signal supply unit 107 determines whether or not a preliminary vibration waveform signal is assigned to each actuator. The print signal supply unit 107 generates a serial print signal based on the assignment, and supplies the print signal to the driver IC 80 corresponding to each actuator unit 21.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the print signal supply unit 107 determines that the time S1 from the print start time T0 to the time T1 when the first ejection waveform signal is supplied is longer than the predetermined time Tw1 and shorter than the predetermined time Tw1 + Tw2. The first preliminary vibration waveform signal is assigned to a time point F1 that goes back a predetermined time Tw1 from the time point T1. As shown in FIG. 9B, the printing signal supply unit 107 determines that the time T1 when the time S1 ′ from the printing start time T0 to the time T1 ′ at which the first ejection waveform signal is supplied exceeds a predetermined time Tw1 + Tw2. A first preliminary vibration waveform signal is assigned to a time point F1 ′ that goes back for a predetermined time Tw1 from “′, and a second preliminary vibration waveform signal is assigned to a time point G1 that goes back for a predetermined time Tw2 from the time point F1 ′. The time S1 ′ exceeds the predetermined time Tw1 + Tw2, for example, when printing is performed only on the rear end of the paper P, for example, from the printing start time T0 when the ink jet head 2 located on the most upstream side starts to face the paper P. This occurs when the time until the discharge waveform signal is supplied is relatively long. 9A and 9B show the time points T1, T1 ′, the times S1, S1 ′, the time points F1, F1 ′, and the time point G1 in one actuator for convenience of explanation. The same applies to the actuator. That is, when the number of actuators, that is, the number of nozzles 8 is n, the time point Ti, the time Si, the time point Fi, and the time point Gi are i = 1 to n, and there are n in total. The allocation of the preliminary vibration waveform signal is performed only at time S1 and time S1 ′, and only the ejection waveform signal is allocated otherwise.

  The predetermined time Tw1 is preferably 5 msec or more and 25 msec or less. When the predetermined time Tw1 is less than 5 msec, the pressure generated in the pressure chamber 10 due to the preliminary vibration waveform signal may remain and affect the ink ejection by the subsequent ejection waveform signal. When the predetermined time Tw1 exceeds 25 msec, even if the ink in the nozzle 8 is vibrated and stirred, the ink thickens again, which may affect the ink ejection by the subsequent ejection waveform signal. When the predetermined time Tw2 is relatively long from the printing start time point T0 to the time point T1 ′, and it is difficult to eliminate the thickening of the ink in the nozzle 8 only by the first preliminary vibration waveform signal, the second preliminary vibration is first performed. By giving the waveform signal, the time is such that the thickening of the ink in the nozzle 8 is eliminated by the first preliminary vibration waveform signal. Depending on the characteristics of the ink and the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere, the vibration based on the second preliminary vibration waveform signal may be repeated a plurality of times. At this time, the predetermined time Tw2 is set shorter than the above-described time length.

  The print signal supply unit 107 supplies the ejection waveform signals generated by the first to fourth waveform generation units 105 a to 105 d that are out of phase to the 16 nozzle rows 18 a to 18 d within the range of one actuator unit 21. The plurality of individual electrodes 35 are supplied. More specifically, the print signal supply unit 107 supplies the ejection waveform signal generated by the first waveform generation unit 105a to the plurality of individual electrodes 35 corresponding to the first nozzle row 18a, and the second waveform generation unit 105b. Is supplied to a plurality of individual electrodes 35 corresponding to the second nozzle row 18b, and a plurality of discharge waveform signals generated by the third waveform generator 105c are supplied to the third nozzle row 18c. The discharge waveform signal generated by the fourth waveform generation unit 105d is supplied to the plurality of individual electrodes 35 corresponding to the fourth nozzle row 18d.

  Further, the print signal supply unit 107 outputs the ejection waveform signals generated by the first to fourth waveform generation units 105 a to 105 d for different times for each of the four sub manifold channels 5 a within the range of one actuator unit 21. Delay. The four graphs in FIG. 10 depict the relationship between the delay amounts. That is, based on the discharge waveform signal supplied to the individual electrode 35 related to the first sub-manifold channel 5a among the four sub-manifold channels 5a facing one actuator unit 21 (the top in FIG. 10). The discharge waveform signal supplied to the individual electrode 35 related to the second sub-manifold channel 5a adjacent to this is delayed from the reference discharge waveform signal by a time t (for example, 1.25 μsec). (Second graph from the top in FIG. 10). Then, the discharge waveform signals supplied to the individual electrodes 35 related to the third and fourth sub-manifold channels 5a are delayed by time 2t and 3t, respectively, with respect to the reference discharge waveform signal (in FIG. 10). 3rd and 4th graph from the top).

  Eventually, the print signal supply unit 107 outputs 16 ejection waveform signals that are phase-shifted at 16 different timings, which is the same as the number of nozzle rows in the range of one actuator unit 21. That is, the print signal supply unit 107 supplies ejection waveform signals having the same phase to the individual electrodes 35 associated with the same nozzle row among the multiple individual electrodes 35 within the range of one actuator unit 21, while Discharge waveform signals having different phases are supplied to the individual electrodes 35 associated with different nozzle arrays. The predetermined times Tw1 and Tw2 described above are different values for each nozzle row in consideration of the fact that the time at which ink actually starts to be ejected from the nozzles differs for each nozzle row due to the waveform difference and the delay time difference of the ejection waveform signals. It may be.

  The driver IC 80 includes a shift register, a multiplexer, and a drive buffer (both not shown). The shift register converts the serial print signal output from the print signal supply unit 107 into a parallel signal, and outputs an individual signal to each individual electrode 35. Based on each signal output from the shift register, the multiplexer selects and selects an appropriate one from a plurality of types of ejection waveform signals relating to ink ejection and two types of preliminary oscillation waveform signals relating to preliminary oscillation of ink. The signal is output to the drive buffer. The drive buffer generates an ejection pulse signal and a vibration pulse signal each having a predetermined level based on the data output from the multiplexer, and supplies the signal to the individual electrode 35 corresponding to each actuator via the FPC. . The ejection pulse signal is formed based on the ejection waveform signal, and the vibration pulse signal is formed based on the preliminary vibration waveform signal. Thereby, the actuator unit 21 is driven. Specifically, a desired image is formed on the paper P based on the ejection pulse signal. Based on the vibration pulse signal, the ink vibrates to the extent that the ink in the nozzle 8 is not ejected. The vibration pulse signal is supplied to the individual electrode 35 before the ejection pulse signal relating to the first ink ejection is supplied to the individual electrode 35. Thereby, the ink in all the nozzles 8 vibrates before ejection, and the thickening is eliminated.

  Next, the driving of the actuator that has received the ejection pulse signal will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11C. 11A to 11C show how ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 8 by driving the actuator of the actuator unit 21 over time.

  FIG. 11A shows a state when the individual electrode 35 is at a positive potential. The actuator, that is, the region of the pressure generating portion J shown in FIG. 4 is in a tension state and is deformed so as to protrude toward the pressure chamber 10. The volume of the pressure chamber 10 at this time is V1, and this state is the first state in the actuator.

  FIG. 11B shows a state when the individual electrode 35 has a negative potential. The actuator is released from the stress and is almost relaxed. At this time, the volume V2 of the pressure chamber 10 is larger than the volume V1 of the pressure chamber 10 shown in FIG. 11A. This state is a second state in the actuator. As a result of such an increase in the volume of the pressure chamber 10, ink is sucked into the pressure chamber 10 from the sub-manifold channel 5a.

  FIG. 11C shows a state when the individual electrode 35 becomes a positive potential again. The actuator is deformed so as to be convex toward the pressure chamber 10 as in FIG. 11A. At this time, the actuator is in the first state. By changing from the second state shown in FIG. 11B to the first state shown in FIG. 11C, pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 10 and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 8. The ink droplets land on the upper surface of the paper P to form dots.

  The actuator that has received the vibration pulse signal tries to deform so that the volume of the pressure chamber becomes V1 → V2 → V1 as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, but does not deform to the extent that ink is ejected from the nozzle 8. This is because the width of the rectangular wave of the preliminary vibration waveform signal, that is, the interval from the fall to the rise is set so that ink is not ejected from the nozzles 8. The ink in the nozzle 8 is vibrated and agitated by the pressure wave generated with the deformation of the actuator.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator, the ink in the nozzle 8 is vibrated and stirred. The vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator while the paper P and the ink ejection surface 13a face each other, that is, during the time Si (i = 1 to n) (see FIGS. 9A and 9B). ). Since the ejection pulse signal is supplied in a relatively short time after the vibration pulse signal is supplied to the actuator, the ink can be ejected from the nozzle 8 with the increased viscosity of the ink in the nozzle 8 being eliminated. Stabilization of discharge is realized.

  A time point Fi (i = 1 to n) when the vibration pulse signal based on the first preliminary vibration waveform signal goes back a predetermined time Tw1 from a time point Ti (i = 1 to n) when the discharge pulse signal related to the first ink discharge is supplied. Are supplied to each of the actuators (see FIGS. 9A and 9B). Therefore, the difference in the state where the thickening of the ink in the nozzle 8 is eliminated for each nozzle 8 is reduced. Accordingly, ink ejection is further stabilized. Furthermore, when the timing of ink ejection from the plurality of nozzles 8 is different, the supply timing of the vibration pulse signal to each of the actuators corresponding to the nozzles 8 is also different from each other. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an excessive power consumption peak, and a power supply device with low power can be used.

  A vibration pulse signal based on the second preliminary vibration waveform signal is supplied to each of the actuators at a time point Gi (i = 1 to n) that goes back a predetermined time Tw2 from the time point Fi (i = 1 to n). Thereby, the thickening of the ink in the nozzle 8 is more effectively eliminated.

  The number of rectangular waves included in the second preliminary vibration waveform signal is less than the number of rectangular waves included in the first preliminary vibration waveform signal. That is, the number of repetitions for returning the volume of the pressure chamber 10 from the first state to the first state again through the second state by the vibration pulse signal based on the second preliminary vibration waveform signal is the first preliminary vibration waveform signal. Less than the number of repetitions due to the vibration pulse signal based. Therefore, the power consumption of the second preliminary vibration waveform signal is smaller than that of the first preliminary vibration waveform signal. Therefore, the progress of the thickening of the ink in the nozzle 8 can be suppressed with power saving, and the total power consumption is also suppressed.

  Since the print start time T0 is determined based on the detection signal from the paper surface sensor 133, the print start time T0 is a more stable time. For this reason, the accuracy of the vibration of the ink in the nozzle 8 and the timing of the ink discharge from the nozzle 8 is improved, and the ink discharge is further stabilized.

  In the present embodiment, the phase of the discharge pulse signal supplied to the actuator differs for each sub-manifold channel 5a, more specifically, for each nozzle row. That is, the drive timing of the actuator differs for each nozzle row. As a result, the power consumption peak can be prevented from becoming excessive, and a power supply device with low power can be used. Furthermore, the fluid-structure crosstalk accompanying the volume change of the pressure chamber 10 can be suppressed. Further, since the ejection pulse signals having the same phase are supplied to the actuators related to one nozzle row, the control becomes easy.

  Furthermore, the phase of the discharge waveform signal supplied to the corresponding actuator differs between the first to fourth nozzle rows 18a to 18d communicating with one sub-manifold channel 5a. Therefore, ink is not simultaneously sucked into the plurality of individual ink flow paths 32 related to two or more nozzle rows from the sub manifold flow path 5a. Thereby, fluid and structural crosstalk is suppressed. Further, the phases of the first and second preliminary vibration waveform signals given to the actuator are also different for each of the nozzle rows 18a to 18d. Also by this, it is possible to avoid an excessive power consumption peak, and it is possible to use a power supply device with low power.

  The actuator included in the actuator unit 21 is formed by piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 (see FIG. 4). Thereby, highly accurate control becomes possible. Furthermore, since the actuator is a piezoelectric type, it consumes low power and generates little heat. Therefore, ink thickening is not promoted as the actuator is driven.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made to the above-described embodiments as long as they are described in the claims. It is possible to apply. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the positive potential is 20 V and the negative potential is −5 V (see FIG. 7), but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as a predetermined deformation amount is obtained in the actuator unit 21, the positive potential and the negative potential may be set to various values based on the configuration of the actuator unit 21 and the control method. For example, the positive potential may be 20 V, and the potential corresponding to the negative potential may be the ground potential (0 V).

  The supply timing of the vibration pulse signal is not limited to the time point Fi (i = 1, 2,... N), but the time point Ti (i = 1, 2,...) When the first ejection pulse signal is supplied from the print start time point T0. -Any time up to n) is acceptable.

  The number of rectangular waves included in the first and second preliminary vibration waveform signals may be 500 or less.

  The width of the rectangular wave included in the first and second preliminary vibration waveform signals may be any width as long as ink is not ejected from the nozzle 8 and the ink in the nozzle 8 vibrates.

  The paper surface sensor 133 may not be provided. Moreover, you may provide the detection means replaced with the paper surface sensor 133. FIG.

  The phase of the ejection pulse signal does not have to be different for each of the nozzle rows 18a to 18d communicating with one sub-manifold channel 5a. Accordingly, the first to fourth waveform generation units 105a to 105d can be made into one waveform generation unit, and the configuration of the control unit 100 is simplified. Even in this case, by reducing the phase of the discharge pulse signal for each sub-manifold flow path 5a, it is possible to reduce the power load and reduce the fluid / structural crosstalk. Conversely, the phase of the discharge pulse signal may be made different for each of the nozzle arrays 18a to 18d without making the phase of the discharge pulse signal different for each sub-manifold flow path 5a. Even in this case, reduction of the power load and reduction of fluid / structural crosstalk are realized.

  In the above-described embodiment, rectangular paper P is used as the recording medium, but roll paper may also be used. In this case, the paper feed unit 114 is changed to one corresponding to roll paper. For example, in the roll paper, when the first ink discharge is performed on a portion of the paper P that is separated from the front end by two to three sheets, the print in which the front end of the roll paper and the ink discharge surface start to face each other The vibration pulse signal is supplied from the start time T0 to the time when the first ejection pulse signal is supplied. Therefore, even when a long roll paper is used as the recording medium, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, ink is ejected by “pulling”, but ink may be ejected by “pushing”. In this case, the individual electrode 35 is set to a negative potential or a ground potential in advance, and the individual electrode 35 is set to a positive potential every time an ejection request is made. At the timing when the individual electrode 35 becomes a positive potential, the piezoelectric sheets 41 to 44 are deformed so that the portion corresponding to the active portion is convex toward the pressure chamber 10. As a result, the volume of the pressure chamber 10 decreases, the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 increases, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 8.

  The ink jet printer 1 described above is a line printer with a head 2 fixed thereto, but the present invention can also be applied to a serial printer in which the head reciprocates.

  The present invention is not limited to a printer, but can be applied to a facsimile, a copier, and the like.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a head body included in the ink jet printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the actuator unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an electrical configuration of the ink jet printer of FIG. 1. It is a wave form diagram which shows the discharge waveform signal produced | generated by each part of the discharge waveform production | generation part drawn by FIG. FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing a basic waveform of a preliminary vibration waveform signal generated by a preliminary vibration waveform generator depicted in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a print signal supplied by a print signal supply unit depicted in FIG. 6 and assigned with an ejection waveform signal and a preliminary vibration waveform signal. It is a figure which shows the state which the delay for every submanifold flow path has arisen in the rectangular wave of the discharge waveform signal. It is the figure which showed a mode that the ink was discharged from a nozzle by the drive of an actuator unit with time.

Explanation of symbols

1 Inkjet head printer (inkjet recording device)
2 Inkjet head 5a Sub-manifold channel (common ink chamber)
8 Nozzle 10 Pressure chamber 13a Ink ejection surface 18a to 18d Nozzle array 34 Common electrode (first electrode)
35 Individual electrode (second electrode)
41 Piezoelectric sheet (piezoelectric member)
101 Print control unit (actuator control means)
133 Paper surface sensor (detection means)

Claims (12)

An ink discharge surface on which a plurality of nozzles are formed, a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the nozzles, a first state in which the volume of the pressure chamber is V1, and a volume of the pressure chamber that is V2 that is larger than V1 A plurality of actuators that can take two states of the second state, and an inkjet head that performs printing by moving relative to the recording medium;
An ejection pulse signal for ejecting ink from the nozzle by appropriately switching the actuator between the two states, and an inside of the nozzle without ejecting ink from the nozzle while appropriately switching the actuator between the two states An actuator controller for supplying a vibration pulse signal for vibrating the ink to the actuator,
From the printing start time T0 at which at least a part of the recording medium starts to face the ink discharge surface in the ink discharge direction from the nozzles, the actuator control means performs n ink discharges (n: Time Si (i = 1, 2, n) until the point of time Ti (i = 1, 2,... N) when the ejection pulse signal is first supplied to the actuator corresponding to each of the nozzles of any natural number) An ink jet recording apparatus that supplies the vibration pulse signal to each of the actuators during the time Si when the length of n) is equal to or longer than a predetermined time Tw1.   The actuator control means supplies the vibration pulse signal to each of the actuators at a time Fi (i = 1, 2,... N) that goes back the predetermined time Tw1 from the time Ti. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to 1.   When the length of the time Si is equal to or longer than the predetermined time Tw1 + Tw2, the actuator control means outputs the vibration pulse signal at a time point Gi (i = 1, 2,. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is supplied to each of the actuators.   The number of repetitions of returning to the first state from the first state through the second state by the vibration pulse signal performed at the time point Gi is the repetition of the vibration pulse signal performed at the time point Fi. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number is less than the number. A detection means for detecting the recording medium immediately before the recording medium and the ink ejection surface face each other;
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print start time T0 is determined based on detection of a recording medium by the detection unit. The plurality of nozzles are divided into a plurality of nozzle groups,
The actuator control means is
For each of the plurality of actuators related to each nozzle group, for each of the plurality of actuators related to a plurality of nozzle groups different from each other, while supplying ejection pulse signals having the same phase to each of the plurality of actuators The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein ejection pulse signals having different phases are supplied to the inkjet recording apparatus. The inkjet head is
A plurality of common ink chambers in communication with each other;
A plurality of the nozzles included in each nozzle group communicate with one common ink chamber;
The actuator control means is
A plurality of actuators related to a plurality of nozzles communicating with one common ink chamber via a plurality of pressure chambers; and a plurality of nozzles communicating with another common ink chamber via a plurality of pressure chambers. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein ejection pulse signals having different phases are supplied to the plurality of actuators. Each common ink chamber communicates with the plurality of nozzles related to two or more nozzle groups via the plurality of pressure chambers,
The actuator control means is
Among the plurality of actuators related to each common ink chamber, the nozzle group is supplied to the actuators related to the same nozzle group while the ejection pulse signal having the same phase is supplied to the actuators related to the different nozzle groups. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein ejection pulse signals having different phases are supplied every time.   The width of the rectangular wave included in the ejection pulse signal is equal to the time length AL (Acoustic Length) from the pressure wave propagating ink to the nozzle from the outlet to the pressure chamber in the common ink chamber. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that   The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the time Tw1 is not less than 5 msec and not more than 25 msec. The actuator is
A first electrode held at a constant potential;
A second electrode disposed at a position facing the pressure chamber and supplied with the ejection pulse signal and the vibration pulse signal from the actuator control means;
A piezoelectric member sandwiched between the first electrode and the second electrode;
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:   The ejection pulse signal is for ejecting ink from the nozzle by changing the actuator from the first state to the first state again through the second state, and the vibration pulse signal is The ink in the nozzle is vibrated without ejecting ink from the nozzle even when the actuator is changed from the first state to the first state through the second state again. The inkjet recording apparatus of any one of -11.

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