JP2008230186A - Inkjet recording substrate, inkjet recording head with substrate, and inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove such a demerit as to be upsized due to increase of size of a recording element substrate chip, and to broadening of a wiring width, resulting from the need for additional terminals and wiring in an inkjet recording head element substrate, a head, and a recorder body, the need for an additional circuit for discrimination, or the like, when a ROM for discriminating a fuse or the like is formed in an inkjet recording element substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recorder is constituted such that is detected that current is flowing in a plurality of recording elements, by detecting an inductive noise generated for a change amount of current per unit time, the current which flows when the plurality of recording elements are respectively driven, by an inductive noise detection wiring portion adjacent to wiring for supplying power to the recording elements. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet recording substrate in which various layer films are laminated on one base substrate, an inkjet head using the inkjet recording substrate, and an inkjet printer using the inkjet head.

  Ink jet recording heads that form ejected ink droplets by various methods are known, and a recording apparatus performs recording by attaching the ejected ink droplets to a recording medium such as recording paper. In particular, inkjet recording heads that use heat as the energy for forming ejected ink droplets can achieve high-density multi-nozzle formation relatively easily, enabling high-resolution, high-quality, and high-speed recording. Is. A so-called side shooter type ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets vertically above a surface on which a heating resistor that generates heat energy is formed is one of the methods for ejecting ink using this type of thermal energy. Are known. This type of head generally supplies ink accompanying ejection from the back side of the substrate on which the heating resistor is provided, through an ink supply port penetrating the substrate.

  In a general printer, an ink jet head having the above-described structure is supported by a carrier mechanism so as to be movable in the main scanning direction, and a print sheet, which is a recording medium, is positioned at a position facing the ink jet head by a paper transport mechanism. It is sequentially conveyed in the scanning direction.

  As a result, the position at which the inkjet head ejects ink droplets and the surface of the printing paper move relative to each other in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. By discharging, a dot matrix image is formed on the surface of the printing paper with the adhered ink.

  Currently, inkjet heads are equipped with a ROM (Read Only Memory) in order to allow the inkjet head to read and store data unique to the head, such as its own ID (Identity) code and ink ejection mechanism drive characteristics. Proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses mounting an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) on an inkjet head. However, in the ink jet head of the above publication, since the EEPROM is mounted separately from the ink jet recording substrate, the structure of the apparatus is complicated, the productivity is not good, and the reduction in size and weight of the apparatus is hindered. In particular, when the recording data has a large capacity, the existing ROM chip is useful, but when the recording data is not a large capacity, the ROM chip may be disadvantageous in terms of cost.

Therefore, Patent Documents 2 to 3 disclose that a ROM including a fuse array is formed together with a layer film such as an ink discharge mechanism on a base substrate of an inkjet recording substrate of an inkjet head. In this case, when a layer film such as an ink discharge mechanism is formed on a base substrate for manufacturing an inkjet recording substrate, a fuse serving as a ROM can be formed simultaneously. For example, if the fuse is selectively blown under the control of a logic circuit in which the fuse is formed at the same time, binary data can be held depending on whether or not the fuse is blown. For this reason, in the inkjet head using the inkjet recording substrate as described above, it is not necessary to prepare a ROM chip separately from the inkjet recording substrate, and the structure that can hold various data in a readable manner is simplified. Can be improved, and a reduction in size and weight can also be realized. (FIG. 5 shows an example of an ink jet recording element substrate to which the ROM and the control logic circuit are added. Each part is described in the figure)
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-126560 USP5505047 USP 5363134

  Here, when a ROM for identifying fuses or the like is formed in the ink jet recording element substrate, as shown in FIG. 5, additional terminals and wiring are required in the ink jet recording head element substrate, head, and recording apparatus main body. There are demerits such as a separate identification circuit, an increase in the size of the recording element substrate chip, an increase in the wiring width, and the like.

Therefore, in the present invention,
In an inkjet recording apparatus using an inkjet recording head substrate in which a plurality of recording elements, a driving element that drives the recording element, and a logic circuit that controls the driving element are formed on the same substrate,
An ink jet recording apparatus that can detect that current is flowing in the recording element by detecting induced noise generated with respect to a change amount per unit time of current flowing when driving the plurality of recording elements. Configured.

  -The recording element was a heating element.

  ・ A part of a plurality of recording elements is set as a non-recording part, and the presence or absence of inductive noise generated with respect to the amount of change per unit time of the current flowing when the recording element is selectively arranged in the non-recording part and driven. Thus, an ink jet recording apparatus for identifying the ink jet recording element substrate and the ink jet recording head by detecting the presence or absence of the selectively arranged recording elements is provided.

  An ink jet recording element in which a driving element for driving a recording element selectively arranged in a non-recording portion has a configuration in which a current change during driving is sharper than a driving element for driving a recording element corresponding to the recording portion. The board was adopted.

  The driving element that drives the recording elements that are selectively arranged in the non-recording portion employs an ink jet recording element substrate that has a larger size and a larger driving capability than the driving element that drives the recording elements corresponding to the recording portion.

  ・ The recording element that is selectively placed in the non-recording area uses an ink jet recording element substrate that has a low resistance so that the current value increases with respect to the drive element that drives the recording element corresponding to the recording area. did.

  A change per unit time of a current that flows when driving in a state where a part of a plurality of recording elements is a non-recording portion and a fuse is arranged in the non-recording portion in place of the recording element and is selectively cut in advance. An ink jet recording apparatus for discriminating between the ink jet recording element substrate and the ink jet recording head by detecting whether or not the fuse is cut based on the presence or absence of inductive noise generated with respect to the amount.

  -The drive element that drives the fuse arranged in the non-recording part employs an ink jet recording element substrate that has a configuration in which the current change during driving is sharper than the drive element that drives the recording element corresponding to the recording part. .

  The driving element that drives the fuse arranged in the non-recording portion employs an ink jet recording element substrate that has a larger size and a larger driving capability than the driving element that drives the recording element corresponding to the recording portion.

  An ink jet recording element substrate was adopted in which the resistance value of the fuse arranged in the non-recording portion was low so that the current value was larger than the resistance value of the recording element corresponding to the recording portion.

  An ink jet recording head using the above-described ink jet recording element substrate was employed.

  -It was set as the inkjet recording device using the above-mentioned inkjet recording head.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect whether or not a current flows through each recording element without adding a new pad on the ink jet recording element substrate and the head side. Ink jet recording heads can be identified based on whether or not they are arranged or whether fuses are arranged and fuses are cut or not. Therefore, no pad addition or circuit addition for identification occurs with respect to the conventional configuration, the chip size does not change greatly, and it is not necessary to mount a memory such as an EEPROM, so an inexpensive ink jet recording head element substrate, head, The device can be supplied.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 2 to 4 are perspective views for explaining the recording head cartridge, the inkjet recording head, and the ink tank.

  The ink jet recording head of the present embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording head) is one component constituting the recording head cartridge. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording head cartridge H1000 includes a recording head H1001 and an ink tank H1900 that is detachably attached to the recording head H1001 and supplies ink to the recording head H1001. Has been. The recording head H1001 records characters, images, and the like on the recording medium by ejecting the ink supplied from the ink tank H1900 from the ejection port according to the recording information.

  The recording head cartridge H1000 is detachable from a carriage provided on the recording apparatus side. The recording head cartridge H1000 is electrically connected via a connection terminal portion provided on the carriage, and is fixed and supported at a predetermined position by a positioning portion provided on the carriage. The ink tank H1900 has tank portions for black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink, respectively. The ink tank H1900 is configured such that each tank portion is detachable with respect to the recording head H1001, and each tank portion can be independently replaced. With this configuration, the running cost of the recording operation by the recording apparatus is reduced.

  The recording head H1001 is an ink jet recording head that performs recording using a heating element as an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for causing film boiling in ink in accordance with an electrical signal.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording head H1001 has a recording element unit H1002 for recording characters and images on a recording medium such as recording paper, and an ink for supplying ink to the recording element unit H1002. An ink supply unit H1003 and a tank holder H2000 for detachably holding an ink tank H1900 for supplying ink to the ink supply unit H1003 are provided.

  Hereinafter, the recording element unit H1002, the ink supply unit H1003, and the tank holder H2000 will be described in detail for the recording head H1001.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the recording unit H1001 includes a first recording element substrate H1100, a second recording element substrate H1101, a first plate H1200, an electric wiring tape H1300, an electric contact substrate H2200, and a second plate H1400. Have.

  The ink supply unit H1003 includes an ink supply member H1500, a flow path forming member H1600, a joint seal member H2300, a filter H1700, and a seal rubber H1800.

(1-1) Recording Element Unit FIG. 4 is a perspective view with a part cut away for explaining the configuration of the first recording element substrate H1100. The first recording element substrate H1100 is a recording element substrate for discharging black (BK) ink, and a plurality of elements for discharging ink onto one surface of the Si substrate H1110 having a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 mm. The electrothermal conversion elements H1103 and electric wirings such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal conversion elements H1103 are respectively formed and formed. In the first recording element unit H1100, a plurality of ink flow paths (not shown) corresponding to the electrothermal conversion element H1103 and a plurality of ejection openings H1107 are formed by photolithography processing, and each ink A common liquid chamber H1112 having an ink supply port H1102 for supplying ink is communicated with the flow path. The first recording element substrate H1100 is bonded and fixed to the first plate H1200.

  Further, a second plate H1400 having an opening is bonded and fixed to the first plate H1200, and the electric wiring tape H1300 is electrically connected to the recording element substrate H1100 via the second plate H1400. To be connected to each other. The electrical wiring tape H1300 applies an electrical signal for ejecting ink to the first recording element substrate H1100, and an electrical wiring portion corresponding to the recording element substrate H1100 and a recording provided on the electrical wiring portion. And an external signal input terminal H1301 for receiving an electrical signal from the apparatus side (printer body). The external signal input terminal H1301 is positioned and fixed on the back side of the ink supply member H1500.

  The common liquid chamber H1112 having the ink supply port H1102 is formed by a processing method such as anisotropic etching using the crystal orientation of Si or sandblasting. That is, when the Si substrate H1110 has a crystal orientation of <100> in the wafer surface direction and <111> in the thickness direction, it can be reduced by an anisotropic etching process using an alkali system (KOH, TMAH, hydrazine, etc.). The etching process is performed at an angle of 54.7 degrees. Thus, an etching process is performed to a desired depth to form a common liquid chamber H1112 having a long groove-shaped ink supply port H1102 formed of a through-hole.

  Further, on the first recording element substrate H1100, the electrothermal conversion elements H1103 are arranged in a staggered pattern in one row on both sides with the ink supply port H1102 interposed therebetween. An electrothermal conversion element H1103 and an electric wiring such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal conversion element H1103 are formed by film formation. Further, electrodes H1104 for supplying electric power to the electric wiring are arranged on both outer sides of the electrothermal conversion element H1103. A bump H1105 such as Au is formed on the electrode H1104 by a thermal ultrasonic pressure bonding method. On the Si substrate H1110, the ink flow path walls H1106 and the discharge ports H1107 constituting the ink flow paths corresponding to the respective electrothermal conversion elements H1103 are formed by a photolithography process using a resin material, and the discharge port group H1108 is formed. Is formed. Since the ejection port H1107 is provided at a position facing the electrothermal conversion element H1103, the ink supplied from the ink supply port H1102 into the ink flow path is discharged by bubbles generated by the heat generation action of the electrothermal conversion element H1103. It is discharged from the outlet H1107.

  The second recording element substrate H1101 is an element substrate for ejecting color (CL) ink. The basic configuration is the same as that of the first recording element substrate H1101, and cyan, magenta, and magenta. Each has an ink supply port for yellow (YELLOW).

Next, the first plate H1200 is made of, for example, an alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) material having a thickness of 0.5 to 10 mm. The material of the first plate H1200 is not limited to alumina, and has a linear expansion coefficient equivalent to that of the material of the first recording element substrate H1100, and the first recording element. The substrate H1100 may be formed of a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or higher than that of the material of the substrate H1100. Examples of the material of the first plate H1200 include silicon (Si), aluminum nitride (AlN), zirconia, silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), silicon carbide (SiC), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W). Any of them may be used. The first plate H1200 is provided with an ink supply port H1201a for supplying black ink to the first recording element substrate H1100, and for supplying cyan, magenta, and yellow color inks to the second recording element substrate H1101. Ink supply ports H1201b are respectively formed. In the first plate H1200, the ink supply port H1102 of the first recording element substrate H1100 is positioned with respect to the ink supply port H1201a, and the ink supply port of the second recording element substrate H1101 with respect to the ink supply port H1201b. H1102 is positioned and fixed by bonding. As the first adhesive used for bonding, an adhesive having a low viscosity, a low curing temperature, curing in a short time, having a relatively high hardness after curing, and having ink resistance is desirable. Such a first adhesive is, for example, a thermosetting adhesive mainly composed of an epoxy resin, and the thickness of the first adhesive layer is desirably 50 μm or less.

  The electrical wiring tape H1300 applies an electrical signal for ejecting ink to the first recording element substrate H1100 and the second recording element substrate H1101. The electrical wiring tape H1300 includes two openings for incorporating the first and second recording element substrates H1100 and H1101, and electrodes corresponding to the electrodes H1104 of the first and second recording element substrates H1100 and H1101. For electrical connection to an electrical contact substrate H2200 having terminals (not shown) and an external signal input terminal H1301 provided at an end of the electrical wiring tape H1300 for receiving an electrical signal from the recording apparatus side. Electrode terminal portion. The electrode terminal portion and the electrode lead (not shown) are connected by a continuous copper foil wiring pattern. The electrical wiring tape H1300 is made of, for example, a flexible wiring board in which the wiring has a two-layer structure and the surface layer is covered with a resist film. In the case of this flexible wiring board, a reinforcing plate is bonded to the back surface side (outer surface side) of the external signal input terminal H1301 to improve the flatness. As the reinforcing plate, for example, a material having heat resistance such as 0.5 to 2 mm of glass epoxy or aluminum is used.

  The electrical wiring tape H1300, the first recording element substrate H1100, and the second recording element substrate H1101 are electrically connected to each other. As a connection method, for example, the bump H1105 on the electrode H1104 of the recording element substrate and the electrode lead of the electric wiring tape H1300 are electrically joined by a thermosonic bonding method.

The second plate H1400 is, for example, a single plate-like member having a thickness of 0.5 to 1 mm, and is formed of a ceramic material such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or a metal material such as Al or SUS. Yes. The material of the second plate H1400 is not limited to these, and has a linear expansion coefficient equivalent to that of each of the first and second recording element substrates H1100, H1101, and the first plate H1200, And the material which has thermal conductivity equivalent to or more than those thermal conductivity may be sufficient.

  The second plate H1400 is provided with openings that are larger than the outer dimensions of the first recording element substrate H1100 and the second recording element substrate H1101 that are bonded and fixed to the first plate H1200. ing. Further, the first recording element substrate H1100 and the second recording element substrate H1101 and the electric wiring tape H1300 are bonded to the first plate H1200 with a second adhesive layer so that they can be electrically connected in a plane. The back surface of the electric wiring tape H1300 is bonded and fixed by the third adhesive layer.

  The electrical connection portions of the first recording element substrate H1100 and the second recording element substrate H1101 and the electric wiring tape H1300 are respectively sealed by first and second sealing agents (not shown), Each connection is protected from ink corrosion and external impact. The first sealant mainly seals the back side of the connection portion between the electrode terminal of the electric wiring tape and the bump H1105 of the recording element substrate and the outer peripheral portion of the recording element substrate, and the second sealant The surface side of the connecting portion is sealed.

  Furthermore, an electrical contact substrate H2200 having an external signal input terminal H1301 for receiving an electrical signal from the recording apparatus side at the end of the electrical wiring tape H1300 is thermocompression-bonded and electrically connected using an anisotropic conductive film or the like. Has been.

  The electric wiring tape H1300 is bonded to the second plate H1400, and at the same time is bent along one side of the first plate H1200 and the second plate H1400. Are adhered by an adhesive layer (not shown). The second adhesive preferably has a low viscosity, can form a thin second adhesive layer H1203 on the contact surface, and has ink resistance. The third adhesive layer is, for example, a thermosetting adhesive layer having an epoxy resin as a main component and a thickness of 100 μm or less.

(1-2) Ink Supply Unit The ink supply member H1500 is formed by resin molding, for example. As this resin material, it is desirable to use a resin material mixed with 5 to 40% of glass filler in order to improve the shape rigidity.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink supply member H1500 that detachably holds the ink tank H1900 is a component of the ink supply unit H1003 for guiding ink from the ink tank H1900 to the recording element unit H1002. The flow path forming member H1600 is ultrasonically welded to form an ink supply path H1501 from the ink tank H1900 to the first plate H1200. Further, a filter H1700 for preventing dust from entering from the outside is joined to the joint portion engaged with the ink tank H1900 by welding, and further, ink is prevented from evaporating from the joint portion. The seal rubber H1800 is incorporated.

  The ink supply unit H1003 includes a mounting guide H1601 for guiding the recording head cartridge H1000 to the mounting position of the carriage on the recording apparatus side, and an engaging portion for mounting and fixing the recording head cartridge H1000 on the carriage by a head set lever. An abutting portion H1509 in the X direction (carriage scanning direction) for positioning at a predetermined mounting position of the carriage, an abutting portion H1510 in the Y direction (conveying direction of the recording medium), and a Z direction (ink ejection direction) The abutting portion H1511 is provided. The ink supply unit H1003 has a terminal fixing portion H1512 that positions and fixes the electrical contact substrate H2200 of the recording element unit H1002. A plurality of ribs are provided around the terminal fixing portion H1512 and its periphery to enhance the rigidity of the surface having the terminal fixing portion H1512.

(1-3) Coupling of Recording Element Unit and Ink Supply Unit As shown in FIG. 3 described above, the recording head H1001 connects the recording element unit H1002 to the ink supply unit H1003 and further to the tank holder H2000. To complete. The coupling is performed as follows.

  Ink does not leak through the ink supply port of the recording element unit H1002 (ink supply port H1201 of the first plate H1200) and the ink supply port of the ink supply unit H1003 (ink supply hole H1602 of the flow path forming member H1600). In order to connect, each member is fixed with a screw H2400 so as to be crimped via a joint seal member H2300. At this time, the recording element unit H1002 is positioned and fixed with high accuracy with respect to the reference positions of the ink supply unit H1003 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction.

  The electrical contact substrate H2200 of the recording element unit H1002 is positioned and fixed to one side surface of the ink supply member H1500 by terminal positioning pins (2 locations) and terminal positioning holes (2 locations). As a fixing method, for example, the terminal positioning pin provided in the ink supply member H1500 is fixed, but it may be fixed using other fixing means.

  Further, the recording head H1001 is completed by fitting and coupling the coupling hole and coupling portion of the ink supply member H1500 with the tank holder to the tank holder H2000. That is, from the tank holder portion composed of the ink supply member H1500, the flow path forming member H1600, the filter H1700, and the seal rubber H1800, the recording element substrates H1100 and H1101, the first plate H1200, the wiring substrate H1300, and the second plate H1400 The recording head H1001 is configured by joining the configured recording element unit by bonding or the like.

(2) Recording Head Cartridge As described above, each color ink is stored in each tank portion of the ink tank H1900. Each tank portion of the ink tank H1900 is formed with an ink supply port (not shown) for supplying ink in the tank portion to the recording head H1001. When the ink tank H1900 is mounted on the recording head H1001, the ink supply port is pressed against a filter H1700 provided in the joint portion on the recording head H1001 side, and the ink in each tank portion passes through the ink supply port from the recording head H1001. The ink is supplied to the first recording element substrate H1100 via the ink supply path H1501 and the first plate H1200.

  The ink supplied to the first recording element substrate H1100 is supplied to a foaming chamber located at the end of each ink flow path having the electrothermal conversion element H1103 and the ejection port H1107, and is supplied from the electrothermal conversion element H1103. The ink is ejected as ink droplets toward a recording sheet as a recording medium by the applied heat energy.

(3) Inkjet recording apparatus A recording apparatus capable of mounting the above-described cartridge type recording head H1001 will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus in which the recording head of the present invention can be mounted.

  In the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the recording head cartridge H1000 shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on the carriage 102 so as to be replaceable. The carriage 102 is connected to an external signal input terminal on the recording head cartridge H1000. In addition, an electrical connection portion for transmitting a drive signal or the like to each discharge portion is provided.

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

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

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

  The recording head cartridge H1000 is mounted on the carriage 102 so that the direction of the ejection ports in each ejection unit intersects the scanning direction of the carriage 102 described above, and ejects liquid from these ejection port arrays. Make a record.

  The apparatus includes signal supply means for supplying a drive signal for driving the recording element and other signals to the recording head cartridge, and power supply means.

  An embodiment for realizing identification information such as head information, which is a feature of the present invention, without mounting a memory such as an EEPROM on the head will be described below.

  In the present invention, with the recent high-speed recording, that is, the situation in which the recording element must be driven in a shorter time (1 to 2 μs or less) (shortening the recording element drive), the current waveform inevitably. Since it has become necessary to sharpen the recording current (heating element), the current change per unit time when driving the recording element (heating element) is considerably larger than that of the conventional recording. Arrange the detection wiring close to the power wiring for driving the element (the power supply wiring to the recording element on the recording apparatus main body side and the power GND wiring from the recording element), and make one end of the detection wiring high. A structure in which a resistor is connected to GND (or a specific potential) and the other end is connected to a detector, and an induction noise due to mutual inductance with respect to a current change per unit time when the recording element is driven. There was employed the arrangement of the glue easily interconnect to the detection wiring to the ink jet recording apparatus main body.

  This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 illustrates the ink jet recording apparatus, the ink jet recording head cartridge, and the ink jet recording element substrate that have been described so far. The power supply wiring from the recording apparatus power source for driving the recording element is connected to the recording apparatus, the recording head, and the element substrate. , The path from the connection to the power GND wiring via the recording element and the recording element driving element to the return to the power source of the recording apparatus is described in a simplified manner. Here, in the present invention, a part of the recording element group in the recording element substrate is used as the non-recording portion in order to use it as identification information.

  Here, the non-recording part is basically the same as the driving of the conventional recording element, but the recording element of the non-recording part is also the same as the conventional driving element and the logic for controlling the driving element. It is possible to selectively drive using a circuit. (No new signal, pad, logic circuit, etc. are basically generated for identification) In the present invention, in such a configuration, the recording element of the non-recording portion is arranged at the mask stage when creating the pattern of the element substrate. An ink jet recording head was formed using a recording element substrate in which the unarrangement was performed for desired identification. In addition, an induction noise is applied to the current that flows suddenly when the recording element is driven, adjacent to the power supply wiring (for recording element driving) system in the wiring section that connects the cartridge mounting carriage and the main body circuit board of the ink jet recording apparatus Inductive noise detection wiring for detecting the presence or absence of current by actively generating current is configured. One side of the induction noise detection wiring is connected to GND with a high resistance of several tens to 100 kΩ or more, and the detection wiring is detected as a power supply wiring when the current rises and falls when the recording element is driven. The induced electromotive force generated by the mutual inductance of the wiring for wiring is arranged such that the adjacent regions of the power supply wiring to the recording element and the power GND wiring from the recording element are voltage-added to the GND potential of the detection wiring, A configuration is adopted in which the current noise detection unit is connected via a diode (only + potential to the detection unit).

  The current noise detector uses a peak hold circuit or the like (not shown) to maintain the peak level of the differential waveform voltage when the drive element current is generated, and determines whether the current exceeds the threshold value. The presence / absence of the recording element can be determined. FIG. 1 shows a case where the ink jet recording element substrate is operated so that a current flows in the identification element arrangement portion of the non-recording portion. Here, since the identification recording element is arranged, a current flows and current noise is generated. A voltage equal to or higher than the threshold value was detected by the detection unit, and a signal “1” was determined.

  Next, FIG. 7 shows the case where the logic signal for operating the ink jet recording element substrate is changed to operate the part where the identification element is not arranged in the non-recording part.

  In FIG. 7, since the recording element for identification is not arranged, no current flows even when the driving element for driving the element is turned on. Therefore, the voltage is also applied to the detection wiring adjacent to the power system wiring for the driving element. Since it does not occur and does not exceed the threshold voltage at the detector, it can be determined that the signal is “0”.

  As described above, the recording elements of the non-recording portion are selectively arranged, and the drive information corresponding to each recording element is selectively operated and read to set and read the identification information instead of the conventional ROM. Became possible.

  Here, it has been described for the purpose of identification so far, but not only the identification of the non-recording part, each of the recording elements of the recording part is selectively operated individually, and each current is detected by detecting the current flowing at that time. It is also possible to confirm whether the recording element is correctly energized.

  Here, when determining only the presence or absence of the recording element in the identification unit (non-recording unit), in order to detect with high sensitivity the current flowing through the recording element in the identification unit (non-recording unit), the recording element drive element of the non-recording unit It was found that it is effective to increase the capacity and make the rising and falling of the current flowing at the time of detection steep and positive. As a means, by increasing the size (gate width) of the drive element (MOS driver, etc.) and reducing the current per unit area of the drive element, the current can be turned on and off more quickly. As a result, the current per unit time of the current The sensitivity of detection could be increased by increasing the amount of change.

  During recording, a current flows as shown in FIG.

  As another means, the current value per unit time is increased by decreasing the resistance value of the recording element of the identification part (non-recording part), thereby increasing the current change per unit time, and as a result, the induced noise level is increased. It is also effective to improve the detection capability.

  In the past, identification information was determined based on whether or not the recording element for identification was arranged in the non-recording part when creating a mask for manufacturing the recording element substrate, but instead of the recording element in the non-recording part as shown in FIG. By disposing the fuse in the recording element, the identification information can be recorded even after the recording element substrate manufacturing process, and the range of utilization is further expanded. The fuse may be cut by increasing the length of the current applied to the fuse, increasing the voltage only at the time of cutting, or the like. In the present invention, since a change in current is detected and discriminated, the time applied to the fuse during reading can be detected in a very short time of several μs or less. Alternatively, it is possible to adjust the application time. By using the fuse as described above, it is possible to switch “1” and “0” information after manufacturing the head, and it is possible to obtain information such as characteristics such as characteristics of the head manufacturing after the head is completed.

  As described above, a non-recording portion is set with respect to a conventional ink jet recording element substrate, and identification information is recorded depending on the presence or absence of the recording element of that portion, or the presence or absence of a fuse, and reading is conventionally performed. In the same way as driving the recording element, a power system wiring section (the power supply wiring and recording to the recording element and the recording element) can be obtained by simply passing a current for a short time using the driving element of the recording element and its control logic circuit. The head identification information can be set with a simple configuration in which the presence or absence of current is detected by inductive noise in the wiring area arranged adjacent to the power GND wiring from the element, and there is no need for a memory such as an EEPROM. As a result, an inexpensive inkjet recording apparatus can be supplied.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram in which a current noise detection unit detects a change per unit time of a current that flows when an identification element set in a recording element substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention is driven, and sets the information as “1”. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a recording cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the recording head shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway explanatory perspective view illustrating a configuration of a recording element substrate in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the inkjet recording device in the Example of this invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram in which a current noise detection unit sets information “0” because current does not flow although a discriminating element set in a recording element substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention drives a drive element in a non-arranged portion. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when a current noise detecting unit detects a change per unit time of a current flowing when driving a recording element according to an embodiment of the present invention and confirms that a current is correctly supplied. The figure which shows the state of the signal at the time of normal recording, or an electric current. The figure which shows the Example which replaced the recording element arrangement | positioning of the non-recording part of this invention with the fuse.

Explanation of symbols

H1000 recording head cartridge H1001 recording head H1002 recording element unit H1003 ink supply unit H1100 first recording element substrate H1101 second recording element substrate H1102 ink supply port (supply port)
H1103 Electrothermal conversion element (recording element)
H1104 Electrode H1105 Bump H1106 Ink channel wall H1107 Large discharge port H1108 Discharge group H1110 Si substrate H1200 First plate (first support member)
H1201 Ink communication port H1300 Electrical wiring tape H1301 External signal input terminal H1309 Terminal positioning hole H1400 Second plate H1500 Ink supply member H1501 Ink flow path H1503 First hole H1509 X abutting part H1510 Y abutting part H1511 Z abutting part H1512 Terminal fixing portion H1515 Terminal positioning pin H1520 Joint portion H1600 Flow path forming member H1601 Mounting guide H1602 Ink communication port H1700 Filter H1800 Seal rubber H1900 Ink tank H2000 Tank holder H2300 Joint seal member H2400 Screw 102 Carriage 103 Guide shaft 104 Main scanning motor 105 Motor pulley 106 Driven pulley 107 Timing belt 108 Medium 109 transport rollers 130 home position sensor 131 pickup roller 132 auto sheet feeder (ASF)
133 Paper end sensor 134 LF motor 135 Paper feed motor 136 Shield plate

Claims (12)

In an inkjet recording apparatus using a substrate for an inkjet recording head in which a plurality of recording elements, a driving element for driving the recording element, and a logic circuit for controlling the driving element are formed on the same substrate,
Inductive noise generated with respect to a change amount per unit time of a current flowing when each of the plurality of recording elements is driven is detected by an inductive noise detection wiring portion adjacent to a wiring for supplying power to the recording elements. And an ink jet recording apparatus configured to detect that a current is flowing through the recording element.   2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording element is a heating element.   2. A recording that occurs with respect to a change amount per unit time of a current that flows when driving by selectively arranging a recording element in the non-recording portion, wherein a part of the plurality of recording elements is a non-recording portion An ink jet recording element substrate and an ink jet recording head are detected by detecting the presence / absence of the selectively arranged recording elements based on the presence / absence of inductive noise generated in an inductive noise detecting wiring adjacent to a wiring for supplying power to the element. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by performing identification.   The driving element for driving the recording element selectively arranged in the non-recording portion according to claim 3 is configured such that a change in current during driving is sharper than the driving element for driving the recording element corresponding to the recording portion. An ink jet recording element substrate.   5. An ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the driving element for driving the recording elements selectively disposed in the non-recording portion has a larger size and a larger driving capability than the driving element for driving the recording element corresponding to the recording portion. Recording element substrate.   The recording element selectively arranged in the non-recording portion according to claim 3 has a low resistance value so that a current value becomes large with respect to a driving element that drives the recording element corresponding to the recording portion. An inkjet recording element substrate.   2. A unit time of a current that flows when driving in a state in which a part of a plurality of recording elements is a non-recording portion and a fuse is disposed in the non-recording portion in place of the recording element and is selectively cut in advance. Ink jet recording element substrate and ink jet by detecting the presence or absence of inductive noise generated in the inductive noise detecting wiring adjacent to the wiring for supplying power to the recording element with respect to the amount of change per unit An ink jet recording apparatus for identifying a recording head.   The drive element for driving the fuse arranged in the non-recording portion according to claim 7 is configured such that a change in current during driving is sharper than the drive element for driving the recording element corresponding to the recording portion. An ink jet recording element substrate.   9. An ink jet recording element substrate according to claim 8, wherein the driving element for driving the fuse arranged in the non-recording section has a larger size and a larger driving capability than the driving element for driving the recording element corresponding to the recording section. .   8. The ink jet recording element substrate according to claim 7, wherein the resistance value of the fuse arranged in the non-recording portion is low so that the current value becomes larger than the resistance value of the recording element corresponding to the recording portion. .   An ink jet recording head using the ink jet recording element substrate according to any one of claims 4 to 6 and claims 8 to 10.   An ink jet recording apparatus using the ink jet recording head according to claim 11.

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