JP2012236297A - Recording device, and processing method in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology enabling acquisition of temperature change synchronized with drive of heat generating resistance elements without causing drastic increase in the size of a substrate for a recording head.SOLUTION: A recording device includes the recording head which has temperature sensing elements corresponding to the plurality of heat generating resistance elements generating thermal energy for discharging ink, respectively. By performing time-sharing drive of the plurality of heat generating resistance elements provided in the recording head, recording is performed. The recording device includes: a priority setting means setting priorities on the plurality of heat generating resistance elements in descending order of drive frequency, on the basis of the drive frequency of each heat generating resistance element during recording of image data which is a recording target; an acquisition means acquiring output from the corresponding temperature sensing elements in accordance with drive timing of the heat generating resistance elements in descending order of the priority of the heat generating resistance element, within a preset sensing processing time; and a determination means determining an ink discharge state by the heat generating resistance elements, on the basis of each acquired output from the temperature sensing elements.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a processing method therefor.

  Conventionally, when energy such as heat is applied to ink, the ink undergoes a state change accompanied by a steep volume change (bubble generation). Inkjet recording methods for performing recording are known. In such a recording apparatus, generally, an ejection port for ejecting ink, an ink flow path communicating with the ejection port, and energy generating means for ejecting ink disposed in the ink flow path A recording head having a (heat generating resistance element) is provided (see Patent Document 1).

  The heating resistor element described above can be manufactured using a semiconductor manufacturing process. For this reason, in the conventional recording head, a heating resistance element is formed on a recording head substrate (for example, made of a silicon substrate), and a groove for forming an ink flow path is formed thereon (for example, polysulfone). The top plate (made of resin, glass, etc.) is joined.

  Further, by utilizing the fact that the recording head substrate is made of a silicon substrate, in addition to the heating resistor element, a driver for driving the heating resistor element, a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heating resistor element, its drive control unit, There is also known a substrate on which is arranged (see Patent Document 2).

  In a print head in which a driver, a drive control unit, etc. are arranged on the same substrate as described above, the temperature of the print head as a whole is determined by using a temperature sensor in which the number is much smaller than the number of drive elements. The method of taking change and applying control is adopted.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,129 JP-A-7-52387

  When control is performed based on the temperature change acquired using the temperature sensor described above, it is necessary to determine the ejection state of the recording head at a high speed for each drive element. .

  First, if outputs from the same number of temperature sensors as the number of drive elements are taken out as they are, the number of take-out pads becomes enormous and the size of the recording head substrate becomes large.

  Further, even in the case where a selection circuit is arranged to selectively acquire the output from the temperature sensor, in the configuration in which the output from the temperature sensor is acquired without considering the drive of the drive element, The temperature change synchronized with the drive cannot be captured. Even if the temperature change can be captured, the same temperature sensor may always be selected.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a technology that can acquire a temperature change synchronized with the driving of the heating resistor element without causing a significant increase in the size of the recording head substrate. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention includes a recording head provided with a temperature detection element corresponding to each of a plurality of heating resistance elements that generate thermal energy for ejecting ink. A recording apparatus that performs recording by driving the plurality of heating resistance elements provided in a head in a time-sharing manner, and based on the number of times of driving each heating resistance element when recording image data to be recorded Priority setting means for setting the priority order in the descending order of the number of times of driving the heating resistor element, and the output from the temperature detection element corresponding to the driving timing of the heating resistor element from the heating resistor element with the higher priority In order, the acquisition means for acquiring within a preset detection processing time and the output from the acquired temperature detection element respectively, the ink of the heating resistor element Comprising a determining means for determining state output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire a temperature change synchronized with the driving of the heating resistor element without causing a significant increase in the size of the recording head substrate.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a recording head substrate 100 used in the recording head 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a recording head substrate 100 used in the recording head 3. The figure which shows an example of a structure of the temperature detection circuit which has the temperature detection element 93. The figure which shows an example of the timing of temperature detection operation | movement. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a drive circuit in the recording head 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of recording processing by the recording head 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of recording processing by the recording head 3. The figure which shows an example of a functional structure in the controller 600 shown in FIG. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the process at the time of determining the priority of the temperature detection element 93. FIG. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the process at the time of creating the timing chart of the temperature detection element 93. FIG. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the process which catches the whole temperature change of the temperature detection element 93. FIG. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the creation process of a timing chart. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of the recording apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an outline of processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an outline of processing according to a third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a recording apparatus and a processing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The recording apparatus may be, for example, a single function printer having only a recording function, or may be a multi-function printer having a plurality of functions such as a recording function, a FAX function, and a scanner function. Further, for example, a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, an electronic device, an optical device, a minute structure, and the like by a predetermined recording method may be used.

  In the following description, “recording” is not limited to the case where significant information such as characters and figures is formed, and it does not matter whether it is significant. Further, it also represents a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, a structure, or the like is widely formed on a recording medium or a medium is processed regardless of whether or not it is manifested so that a human can perceive it visually.

  “Recording medium” represents not only paper used in general recording apparatuses but also cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, resin, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. .

  Further, “ink” should be interpreted widely as in the definition of “recording”. Therefore, by being applied on the recording medium, it is used for forming an image, pattern, pattern, etc., processing the recording medium, or processing the ink (for example, solidification or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium) Represents a liquid that can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus) 1 performs recording by reciprocating an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) 3 that performs recording by discharging ink in accordance with an ink jet method in a predetermined direction.

  Here, the recording head 3 employs an ink jet system that ejects ink using thermal energy. Therefore, the recording head 3 includes a heating resistance element that generates thermal energy for ejecting ink. The heating resistance element is provided corresponding to each of the discharge ports, and applies a pulse voltage corresponding to the recording signal to the corresponding heating resistance element. Thereby, ink is ejected from the corresponding ejection port.

  The controller 600 includes an MPU 601, a ROM 602, a special purpose integrated circuit (ASIC) 603, a RAM 604, a system bus 605, an A / D converter 606, and the like.

  The ROM 602 stores a program corresponding to a control sequence described later, a required table, and other fixed data. The ASIC 603 controls the carriage motor M1 and the transport motor M2. The ASIC 603 also generates a control signal for controlling the recording head 3. The RAM 604 is used as a development area for image data, a work area for program execution, and the like. A system bus 605 connects the MPU 601, the ASIC 603, and the RAM 604 to each other to exchange data. The A / D converter 606 performs A / D conversion on analog signals input from a sensor group described later, and supplies the converted digital signal to the MPU 601.

  A switch group 620 includes a power switch 621, a print switch 622, a recovery switch 623, and the like. Reference numeral 630 denotes a sensor group for detecting the apparatus state, and includes a position sensor 631, a temperature sensor 632, and the like.

  The ASIC 603 transfers data for driving a heating resistance element (heater) to the recording head 3 while directly accessing the storage area of the RAM 604 during recording scanning by the recording head 3.

  The carriage motor M1 is a drive source for reciprocally scanning the carriage in the direction of arrow A, and the carriage motor driver 640 controls the drive of the carriage motor M1. The transport motor M2 is a drive source for transporting the recording medium, and the transport motor driver 642 controls driving of the transport motor M2. The recording head 3 is scanned in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a scanning direction). Specifically, scanning is performed relative to the recording medium. The recording head 3 is provided with an inkjet recording head substrate (hereinafter abbreviated as a recording head substrate) 100. The recording head substrate 100 controls the recording head 3 based on the recording data input from the controller 600.

  Reference numeral 610 denotes a computer (or an image reading reader, digital camera, or the like) that is a supply source of image data (to be recorded), and is collectively referred to as a host device, for example. Image data, commands, status signals, and the like are exchanged between the host device 610 and the recording device 1 via an interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F) 611.

  In the host device 610, an application program and a printer driver are installed, and image data is generated by the software. This image data is finally controlled in the recording apparatus 1 to drive / non-drive nozzles corresponding to cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) of the recording head 3. It is converted into 1-bit data. Then, a recording process is performed based on the data. In the recording apparatus 1, when the image data of the entire page is created from the image data of the entire page at the time of this data conversion, the memory becomes tight, so the image data is divided into a plurality of bands and divided into band units. Created image data. Then, recording processing is performed based on the image data for each band.

  Next, the recording head substrate 100 used in the recording head 3 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). Here, FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a plane of the recording head substrate 100, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of a cross section of the recording head substrate 100. Here, the illustration of the nozzle is omitted.

  In the recording head substrate 100, each layer is stacked on the Si substrate 91. A temperature detection element 93 is provided on the Si substrate 91 via a heat storage layer 92 made of a thermal oxide film SiO 2 or the like. The temperature detection element 93 is formed of a thin film resistor such as Al, AlCu, Pt, Ti, TiN, TiSi, Ta, TaN, TaSiN, TaCr, Cr, CrSiN, and W. In addition to the individual wiring 31 such as Al and the common wiring 33, Al wiring for connecting the heater 95 and the control circuit is also formed on the Si substrate 91.

  On the upper side of the temperature detection element 93, a heating resistance element (heater) 95 such as TaSiN, a passivation film 96 such as SiO 2, and a cavitation-resistant film 97 such as Ta are laminated with high density by a semiconductor process via an interlayer insulating film 94. To be formed.

  Here, the temperature detection element 93 formed of a thin film resistor is disposed separately and independently immediately below each heater 95. More specifically, the temperature detection element 93 has a rectangular shape and is disposed separately below the heater. The distance between the heater 95 and the temperature detection element 93 is, for example, about 1 μm. The individual wiring 31 and the common wiring 33 connected to each temperature detection element 93 are configured as part of a detection circuit that detects information of the temperature detection element 93.

  Such a laminated structure is produced by forming a temperature detection element 93 formed of a thin film resistor, an individual wiring 31 such as Al, and a common wiring 33 on the heat storage layer 92 and patterning them. The For this reason, the laminated structure can be produced without changing the conventional recording head structure, which has a great advantage in industrial production.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the temperature detection element according to another embodiment different from the configuration shown in FIG. In FIG. 2A, the rectangular temperature detecting element 93 is disposed immediately below the heater, whereas in FIG. 3, the snake-shaped temperature detecting element 93 is disposed immediately below the heater.

  In the rectangular temperature detection element 93 shown in FIG. 2A, the shape of the heater 95 with the interlayer insulating film 94 interposed therebetween can be formed flat, so that ejection stability can be easily ensured. On the other hand, the snake shape shown in FIG. 3 makes it easy to set the resistance value of the temperature detecting element 93 to be large, so that it is possible to obtain an advantage that a minute temperature change can be detected with high accuracy.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a temperature detection circuit having the temperature detection element 93.

  The constant current source 81 includes a constant current source Iref and a current mirror, and supplies a constant current Is to the temperature detection element group 82.

  The temperature detection element group 82 includes segments Seg1 to SegN. Each segment includes a temperature detection element Rs (93) of a thin film resistor, a selection switch M1 composed of a MOS transistor for turning on / off the temperature detection element 93, and a read switch M2 for a MOS transistor for reading out both terminal voltages of the temperature detection element 93. And M3. The read switches M2 and M3 of each segment are connected to common lines L1 and L2.

  The buffer amplifier 83 receives and buffers both terminal voltages V1 and V2 of the temperature detecting element 93 output to the common lines L1 and L2 with high input impedance. The resistors R5 and R6 are resistors for fixing the potential of the buffer amplifier input when not selected, and the resistance values thereof are set to resistance values that do not hinder high input impedance.

  The differential amplifier 84 includes gain setting resistors R1, R2, R3, and R4, a reference voltage Vref, and a buffer amplifier. The differential amplifier 84 receives the output of the buffer amplifier 83 and amplifies the inter-terminal voltage of the temperature detection element Rs.

  The control circuit 85 generates selection signals S1 to Sn for selecting each segment. In the control circuit 85, for example, the selection switch M1 is turned on by outputting the selection signal S1, and the constant current Is is conducted to the temperature detection element Rs of the segment Seg1. Terminal voltages V1 and V2 corresponding to the temperature are generated in the temperature detecting element Rs. Then, the terminal voltages V1 and V2 are read through the read switches M2 and M3 that are turned on simultaneously. The terminal voltages V1 and V2 are input to the differential amplifier 84 via the buffer amplifier 83, and the reference voltage Vref and the gain G are given to the differential amplifier 84, whereby the temperature detection voltage Vs is obtained. Here, the temperature detection voltage Vs is given by the following equation.

Vs = G (V1-V2) -Vref
Note that G = R3 / R1, R1 = R2, and R3 = R4.

  In this way, the temperature detection voltage of the segment Seg1 is read out. As for the other segments Seg, similarly to the above, the temperature detection voltage Vs is read out by selecting the segment SegN by the output of the selection signal Sn.

  Next, an example of the timing of the temperature detection operation will be described with reference to FIG. The temperature detection operation is performed in synchronization with the driving of the heater.

  Here, the LT signal indicates a timing at which recording data is taken into the latch, and is a signal synchronized with the time-division driving of the heater. The HE signal is a signal that defines the time of the pulse applied to the heater 95. Signals S <b> 1 and Sn indicate the selection signals S <b> 1 to Sn described above, and are output from the control circuit 85. Vs indicates a temperature detection voltage based on the temperature detection element 93 selected by the control circuit 85.

(Embodiment 1)
Here, the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which the recording head 3 is provided with 32 ejection openings and data for a width of 32 dots is recorded in one scan. The temperature detection element 93 is provided corresponding to each heater, and one of the 32 temperature detection elements 93 is selected by inputting a selection signal, and the output of the selected temperature detection element 93 is output. It is output outside the recording head 3.

  Here, a configuration of a circuit (driving circuit) related to ink ejection in the recording head 3 (recording head substrate 100) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The recording head 3 performs eight times-division driving with the maximum number of driving elements (drivers 74) that can be driven simultaneously according to the recording data (that is, the number of drivers included in one time-division driving unit) being eight. It has a configuration.

  When the heater 95 is driven, first, a DATA (recording data) signal and an HE (heat) signal from a latch 76 that stores 8-bit data are input to the heat circuit 75. Note that the DATA signal is input to the latch 76 from the 8-bit shift register 77 at the timing of the latch (LT) signal.

  The heat circuit 75 to which these signals are input performs an AND operation on the signals. Then, the logical product DATA signal from the heat circuit 75 and the BE (block enable) signal from the decoder 73 are input to the driver 74. That is, the drive of the heater 95 is controlled by the logical product of the 8-bit DATA signal corresponding to the number of drivers included in one time-division drive unit and the 2-bit BE signal for selecting the four time-division drive orders. Is done.

  The driver 74 ANDs these signals and applies a voltage to the corresponding heater 95 based on the result. The above operation is repeated. Thereby, time-division driving is realized.

  Here, the outline of the recording process by the recording head 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the ejection port 21 of the recording head 3 and the image data 19. In the image data 19, for easy understanding, the black portion 22 indicates a portion including image information, and the white portion indicates a portion not including image information.

  B shows a model of the ejection port 21 of the recording head 3, and shows a width that can be recorded in one scan. As described above, since the number of ejection ports of the recording head 3 is 32, B indicates the width of 32 rasters (one raster A corresponds to one dot line). The recording width C for one scan, that is, the number of times of driving is 6 times (6 columns). In the first embodiment, the recording head 3 is driven by one column (one column) by four time divisions because eight heaters are driven by one time division driving unit.

  When such image data 19 is recorded by time-division driving, as shown in FIG. 8, ink is ejected from the ejection port corresponding to each timing. The heater driving sequence is BE1, BE2, BE3, BE4, BE5. The heater to which the BE1 signal in the first column is input is driven first, and then BE2, BE3 are sequentially driven. . That is, in FIG. 8, time flows from left to right.

  Here, the temperature detecting element 93 described above is selected in synchronization with the timing of recording the image data 19 on the recording medium. Then, a signal output from the selected element 93 is acquired as a temperature detection voltage. Such temperature detection operation is performed, for example, in units of time (detection processing time) during which one scan is recorded along the scanning direction of the recording head 3.

  Next, an example of a functional configuration of the controller 600 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The controller 600 includes an image processing unit 61, a time setting unit 62, a priority order setting unit 63, a detected temperature acquisition unit 64, and a discharge state determination unit 66 as functional configurations.

  The image processing unit 61 performs various image processes on the image data received from the host device 610. In the image processing unit 61, for example, banding processing is performed. More specifically, the image data is divided into a plurality of bands, and image data for each band is created. As a result, binary recording data subjected to banding processing is obtained. That is, a binary drive signal indicating drive / non-drive is obtained for each nozzle (for each pixel). It should be noted that binary data may be sent from the host device 610, or multi-value data may be sent.

  The time setting unit 62 sets the detection processing time. The detection processing time indicates a unit of time for performing detection temperature acquisition processing from a plurality of temperature detection elements. Although details will be described later, a priority is assigned to the heater for each detection processing time, and the detected temperature is acquired from the corresponding temperature detection element based on the priority. Note that, as described above, the detection processing time corresponds to a time during which one scanning recording is performed along the scanning direction of the recording head 3.

  The priority order setting unit 63 indicates drive information (that is, ejection duty of each nozzle) indicating how many times each nozzle is driven in one scan based on the binary print data (within a predetermined print area) subjected to banding processing. To get. Then, priority is set for each heater (identifier) based on the drive information. Here, the priority order indicates the order in which the output from the temperature detecting element 93 corresponding to each heater is acquired. The priorities are assigned in order from the heater having the largest number of times of driving during one scan, and the assignment result is stored in the priority order register 67.

  The detection temperature acquisition unit 64 acquires the output from the temperature detection element corresponding to the heater in order from the heater with the highest priority stored in the priority register 67 in accordance with the drive timing of the heater. The detected temperature acquisition unit 64 is provided with a timing chart creation unit 65. The timing chart creation unit 65 creates a timing chart that defines the timing for selecting the temperature detection element 93. This timing chart is transferred to the control circuit 85 in the recording head 3. As a result, the control circuit 85 outputs the selection signals S1 to S4 according to this timing chart.

  The discharge state determination unit 66 determines the ink discharge state based on the temperature waveform (waveform indicating the temperature change) of the output (temperature detection voltage) from the temperature detection element 93 acquired by the detection temperature acquisition unit 64.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 10, an outline of processing when the priority order setting unit 63 shown in FIG. 9 determines the priority order of the temperature detection elements 93 will be described.

  The priority order setting unit 63 first acquires drive information 26 indicating how many times each nozzle (driver 74) is driven in one scan, based on banded image data (image data for each band). . Then, identifiers for identifying the heaters are sequentially stored in the priority order register 67 so that the corresponding temperature detection elements 93 are preferentially selected in the order of the number of times of driving during one scan. As a result, the priority order information 27 is stored in the priority order register 67.

  Referring to the image data 19, nozzle number 7 (BE3, DATA1) is most frequently used for recording, and then nozzle numbers 13 (BE1, DATA3), 19 (BE3, DATA4), 16 (BE4, DATA3) in the process of.

  At this time, the nozzle numbers 13, 16, and 19 have the same number of times of driving, but are given priority according to the data input order. That is, when determining the priority order of the temperature detection elements 93, the first index is the number of times of driving, the second index is the order in which the BE signal is input, and the third index is the order in which the DATA signal is input. This index may be changed as appropriate, and the second index may be a DATA signal and the third index may be a BE signal.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 11, an outline of processing when the timing chart creation unit 65 shown in FIG. 9 creates a timing chart indicating the selection timing of the temperature detection element 93 will be described.

  The timing chart creation unit 65 selects the temperature detection element 93 corresponding to the highest heater in accordance with the timing of driving the highest heater stored in the priority register 67 within the detection processing time. As shown in FIG. Signal 29 indicates a drive signal defined based on the above-described DATA signal, HE signal, LT signal, and the like. The heater 95 is driven according to this drive signal.

  In the first embodiment, since the signal output from the temperature detection element 93 is one signal at the same timing, the selection switch M1 is not switched while the signal from any one of the temperature detection elements 93 is selected. During this time, switching of selection to another temperature detection element is prohibited.

  Here, when the distance between the heater 95 and the temperature detection element 93 is about 1 μm, the temperature change detected by one ejection drive is as shown in FIG. Specifically, the temperature of the heater 95 rapidly increases after the drive signal is input, and then decreases rapidly after reaching the maximum temperature in about 2.0 μs after the signal is input. Then, after the signal is input, a phenomenon in which the temperature decrease rate changes at about 8.0 μs appears. It is known that the time when this characteristic phenomenon appears varies depending on the shape of the nozzle and the physical properties of the constituent material of the recording head.

  Here, the outline of the process for capturing the entire temperature change will be described with reference to FIG. Here, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, the detection processing time setting process in the case of capturing the entire temperature change will be described.

  When capturing the entire temperature change, the selection switch M1 cannot be switched for 10.0 μs after the drive signal is input. For this reason, 10.0 μs before and after the timing at which the heater 95 corresponding to the selected temperature detecting element 93 is driven, that is, 20.0 μs, is prohibited from being switched (switching prohibited time). Here, switching is prohibited even before driving. If another temperature detection element is selected 2.0 μs before the currently selected temperature detection element, the signal output is duplicated. Because it happens.

  In this way, writing is made to the timing chart so as to select any one of the temperature detecting elements, and the temperature detecting element selected at the next timing is written to the timing chart in consideration of the switching prohibition time.

  The timing for switching the selection of the temperature detection element is written in the timing chart as much as possible within the detection processing time. Specifically, if the time for selecting the next highest priority temperature detection element remains in the detection processing time, the timing for the next highest priority temperature detection element is set as shown in FIG. Additional writing is performed in the same manner as described above. Here, reference numeral 42 indicates the switching prohibition time, and reference numeral 23 indicates the remaining detection processing time.

  Next, an example of the flow of processing in the recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the flow of processing when selecting the temperature detection element 93 will be described.

  When this process starts, the recording apparatus 1 sets a detection processing time in the time setting unit 62 (S101). As described above, the time for performing one scanning recording along the scanning direction of the recording head 3 is set as the detection processing time.

  Subsequently, the recording apparatus 1 uses the priority setting unit 63 to record each band based on driving information indicating how many times each nozzle is driven in one scan when recording image data (binary recording data) for each band. A priority is set for the heater (identifier) (S102). That is, the discharge duty for each nozzle is compared, and the priority is set to the identifier of each heater in descending order of the discharge duty.

  In the recording apparatus 1, the timing chart creating unit 65 creates a timing chart. When creating the timing chart, first, the timing chart is written so that the corresponding temperature detection element is selected in accordance with the driving timing of the heater having the highest priority within the detection processing time (S103). Then, the priority order of the selected temperature detecting element is changed to the lowest order (S104), and a predetermined time (20.0 μs in the first embodiment) before and after the timing at which the temperature detecting element is selected is changed to the switching prohibition time. Set to.

  Thereafter, the recording apparatus 1 determines in the timing chart creation unit 65 whether or not there remains a time for selecting another temperature detection element within the detection processing time (S106). Then, as long as there is a remaining time (YES in S107), the recording apparatus 1 repeats the processes of S103 to S106 described above.

  On the other hand, if there is no remaining time (NO in S107), the timing chart creation process ends. Then, the timing chart is sent to the control circuit 85 of the recording head 3, and the driving data based on the image data is sent to the driving circuit (see FIG. 6) of the recording head 3, so that the ejection operation and the temperature detection operation are synchronized. Done.

  Thereby, the control circuit 85 of the recording head 3 outputs a selection signal for switching and selecting the temperature detection element 93 in accordance with the created timing chart. The selection signal is output in synchronization with the driving of each heater. Then, the recording apparatus 1 sequentially acquires the temperature detection voltage from the temperature detection element 93 in the discharge state determination unit 66, and determines the ink discharge state based on the temperature waveform (S108).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the selection order of the temperature detection elements is determined based on the number of times the heater is driven (discharge duty), heat is generated without causing a significant increase in the size of the print head substrate. A temperature change synchronized with the driving of the resistance element can be acquired. Thereby, for example, an abnormal ejection nozzle that causes an image defect can be detected at an early stage.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is the configuration of the recording head. In the second embodiment, the case where the recording head is a multi-recording head will be described. That is, in the second embodiment, a plurality of recording heads are provided.

  Here, in the multi-recording head, a plurality of recording heads are arranged along the nozzle arrangement direction. In recording, a multi-recording head is scanned in a direction (recording medium conveyance direction) perpendicular to the nozzle arrangement direction, thereby recording a plurality of lines simultaneously in one scan. Here, for example, each of the recording heads is provided with 32 ejection ports.

  The outline of the processing according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 15 shows an outline showing the recording processing by each recording head (in this case, four recording heads) for each time division time when the image data 45 is recorded. The black portion indicates a portion including image information, and the white portion indicates a portion not including image information.

  As shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of (in this case, four) recording heads 46 to 49 are arranged along the nozzle arrangement direction. In each of the recording heads 46 to 48, the image data 45 is recorded on the recording medium by performing time-division driving indicated by reference numerals 50 to 53.

  Here, the output from the temperature detection element (temperature detection voltage) is obtained by one signal from one recording head at the same timing. Therefore, when four recording heads are provided, the detected temperature acquisition unit 64 can obtain four outputs from the temperature detecting element at the same timing. Note that, after the binary print data corresponding to each nozzle is generated for each print head in the image processing unit 61, basically the same processing as in the first embodiment may be performed.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the same processing as in the first embodiment can be performed even in the case of a multi-recording head. That is, even in the configuration of the second embodiment, a temperature change synchronized with the driving of the heating resistor element can be acquired without causing a significant increase in the size of the recording head substrate.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described. In the third embodiment, the above-described temperature detection operation is performed during the preliminary operation before recording based on image data. In the preliminary operation, generally, the discharge operation is performed several times in order to improve a discharge failure state due to an increase in ink viscosity in the discharge port before performing the recording process based on the image data.

  Here, the case where the temperature detection operation is performed during the preliminary operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  During the preliminary operation, ink is ejected from all the nozzles as indicated by reference numeral 30. Here, reference numeral 25 indicates image data to be recorded after the preliminary operation. In the third embodiment, the priority order is set for each nozzle based on the drive information when the image data 25 is recorded. Then, during the preliminary operation, the output from the corresponding temperature detection element is acquired based on the priority order. Finally, the discharge state is determined based on the temperature waveform. In this case, the time indicated by reference numeral 23 is set as the detection processing time.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, the temperature detection operation is performed during the preliminary operation. As a result, the ejection state can be determined prior to the start of the recording process.

  The above is an example of a typical embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

  For example, in the first to third embodiments described above, a case has been described in which one output from the temperature detection element can be simultaneously acquired for each recording head. However, if the size of the recording head substrate permits, the output is limited to one output. It may be possible to obtain multiple outputs at the same time.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments described above, the case where the temperature detection elements are provided corresponding to the respective heating resistance elements (heaters) has been described. However, the temperature detection elements corresponding to all the heating resistance elements are provided. There is no need to be provided.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments described above, the drive information (discharge duty) of each nozzle is acquired based on the image data for each band, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drive information may be obtained from the entire image data to be recorded.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments described above, the case where the timing for switching the selection of the temperature detection element as much as possible within the detection processing time is described in the timing chart is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the timing for switching the selection of a predetermined number of temperature detection elements determined in advance within the detection processing time may be written in the timing chart, and the detection temperature may be acquired accordingly.

Claims (7)

A recording head provided with a temperature detection element corresponding to each of the plurality of heating resistance elements that generate thermal energy for ejecting ink; and the plurality of heating resistance elements provided in the recording head are time-shared. A recording device for recording by driving,
Priority order setting means for setting the priority order in descending order of the number of driving times to the plurality of heating resistance elements, based on the number of driving times of each heating resistance element when recording image data to be recorded;
An acquisition means for acquiring an output from a temperature detection element corresponding to a driving timing of the heating resistor element in order from a heating resistor element having a high priority in a preset detection processing time;
And a determination unit that determines an ink discharge state by the heating resistor element based on each of the acquired outputs from the temperature detection element. Image processing means for generating data divided into band units by banding the image data to be recorded;
The priority order setting means includes:
2. The recording according to claim 1, wherein drive information indicating the number of times of driving each heating resistor element is acquired based on the data divided in band units, and the priority order is set based on the drive information. apparatus. The acquisition means includes
The output from the temperature detecting element corresponding to the driving timing of the heating resistor element is acquired as much as possible within the detection processing time in order from the heating resistor element having the highest priority. The recording apparatus according to 1. The acquisition means includes
Creating means for creating a timing chart for selecting the output from the corresponding temperature detection element in accordance with the drive timing of the heating resistor element;
The recording head is
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control circuit that selects an output from any of the plurality of temperature detection elements according to the timing chart. A plurality of the recording heads are provided,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing by the priority order setting unit, the obtaining unit, and the determination unit is performed for each of a plurality of recording heads. 6. The processing by the priority order setting unit, the acquisition unit, and the determination unit is performed during a preliminary operation performed before recording the image data to be recorded. The recording apparatus according to item 1. A recording head provided with a temperature detection element corresponding to each of the plurality of heating resistance elements that generate thermal energy for ejecting ink; and the plurality of heating resistance elements provided in the recording head are time-shared. A processing method of a recording apparatus for recording by driving,
A step in which priority setting means sets the priority order in descending order of the number of times of driving the plurality of heating resistance elements based on the number of times of driving of each heating resistance element when recording image data to be recorded;
An acquisition means for acquiring an output from a temperature detection element corresponding to the drive timing of the heating resistor element, in order from the heating resistor element having a high priority, within a preset detection processing time;
And a step of determining, based on each of the acquired outputs from the temperature detection element, a step of determining an ink discharge state by the heating resistance element.

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