JP2017213874A - Recording element substrate and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording element substrate that can suppress a decline in image quality, and to provide a recording device.SOLUTION: A recording element substrate has a droplet amount and a discharge speed of discharged liquid that vary depending on temperature. A heater 104, a sub-heater 105 and a driver 106 are disposed in each heating area 107 and a plurality of heating areas 107 is arrayed in the recording element substrate to control generation of heat. With such the arrangement, generation of heat between the plurality of heating areas 107 is readily made to be even.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging a liquid by driving a recording element, and a recording element substrate used in the recording apparatus. Specifically, the present invention relates to a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus in which a plurality of recording elements and a drive circuit for driving each recording element are provided on the same recording element substrate.

  A recording element substrate used in a recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging liquid performs substrate temperature control in response to a recent demand for higher image quality. In the recording element substrate, the amount of liquid droplets discharged and the discharge speed vary depending on the temperature. Therefore, when a temperature distribution of the substrate temperature occurs, the temperature distribution becomes uneven as it is, and the image quality deteriorates.

  As a method for correcting the temperature distribution of the substrate, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of suppressing temperature unevenness in the substrate by arbitrarily heating a specific area in the substrate. Further, a method of heating a plurality of areas by mounting a driver of a sub heater in a printing element substrate without increasing connection terminals connectable to the outside of the substrate is also disclosed.

JP 2014-200902 A

  However, the driver generates a certain amount of heat when the sub-heater is driven. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the driver is concentrated on one end portion of the recording element substrate, the one end portion of the recording element substrate is heated by heat generation when the sub-heater is driven. As a result, temperature unevenness in the substrate may occur and image quality may be degraded.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

  Therefore, the recording element substrate of the present invention is a recording element substrate that discharges liquid droplets from the discharge port by foaming the liquid, and includes a plurality of first heating means arranged to foam the liquid. A second heating unit provided in the vicinity of the first heating unit row and a plurality of second heating units provided in the vicinity of the first heating unit and used for heating the recording element substrate is arranged along the first heating unit row. In the recording element substrate including the means array, the plurality of drive means for driving the second heating means includes a drive means array arranged along the first heating means array.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a recording element substrate. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a recording element substrate. FIG. 3 is a view showing a recording element substrate. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a layout of a heating area in a recording element substrate. (A) is a configuration example of a recording apparatus, (b) is a diagram showing a configuration example of a recording head.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a recording element substrate 101 according to the present embodiment. The printing element substrate 101 is provided with a pad (connection terminal) 102 which is a connection terminal with the outside at the end of the substrate, and the pad 102 is a signal for receiving selection data of the heater 104 driven for ejection. It consists of terminals and power terminals. A supply port 103 for supplying liquid to be discharged is provided at the center of the recording element substrate 101, and the liquid is supplied to the upper layer of the heater (first heating means) 104. The discharge ports form a discharge port array in rows, and the discharge ports are formed immediately above the heater 104. A current is passed through the heater 104 at an arbitrary timing to heat the heater 104, whereby the liquid is heated and foamed so that droplets can be discharged from the discharge port. The sub-heater (second heating means) 105 is an element for heating and keeping the recording element substrate 101 and the liquid. The driver (driving means) 106 is connected to the sub-heater 105 and turns on / off the current flowing through the sub-heater 105.

  The recording element substrate 101 is provided with a plurality of heating areas (regions) 107 equally on the left and right sides of the substrate. Within each heating area 107 (in the region), a temperature detection element (temperature detection means) 109, A sub heater 105 and a driver 106 are provided. One temperature detection element 109 is provided for one heating area 107 and detects the temperature distribution of the recording element substrate 101. The positional relationship among the heater 104, the sub heater 105, and the driver 106 in each heating area 107 is the same in all the heating areas 107. Arranging in this way is more preferable because heat generation between the plurality of heating areas 107 can be easily aligned. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a predetermined number of heaters 104, sub-heaters 105, and drivers 106 may be included in one heating area 107.

  FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a circuit for driving the sub-heater 105 in the recording element substrate 101. The pad 102a is a + power supply pad, and the pad 102b is a GND pad. These power supply pads 102a and 102b are used for power supply to the sub-heater 105, but may be shared (as the same power supply) with pads used for power supply to the heater 104 used for droplet discharge. The driver 106 is controlled by the sub heater control signal 108 and drives the sub heater 105 to heat any of the eight heating areas 107 in the recording element substrate 101. The sub-heater control signal 108 may be generated by being converted from a data signal in the recording element substrate 101 or may be supplied from the outside of the recording element substrate 101 via the pad 102.

  FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating a state in which the sub heater control signal 108 is generated in the printing element substrate 101. FIG. 1D is a diagram in which the sub heater control signal 108 is supplied from outside the printing element substrate 101. It is the block diagram which showed the state performed. In FIG. 1C, a data processing circuit 110 for generating the sub-heater control signal 108 is provided in the recording element substrate 101. In FIG. 1D, the data processing circuit 110 is provided outside the recording element substrate 101. Is provided. When the sub-heater control signal 108 is generated in the printing element substrate 101, the sub-heater control can be performed without increasing the pad 102 by sending the control signal data simultaneously with the image data. The sub-heaters 105 and the drivers 106 are respectively arranged in a row in the long side direction of the recording element substrate 101, and the shortest distance is provided equally to the edge of the liquid supply port 103.

  In the recording element substrate 101 of the present embodiment, the row 105a (second heating) of the sub-heaters 105 in which the plurality of sub-heaters are arranged along the row 104a (first heating means row) of the heaters 104 in which the plurality of heaters 104 are arranged. Means column). A row 106a (driving means row) of drivers 106 in which a plurality of drivers 106 are arranged is provided along the row 104a of the heaters 104. As a result, the recording element substrate 101 is heated by the sub-heater 105 to suppress temperature unevenness in the recording element substrate 101, and furthermore, occurrence of temperature unevenness due to the arrangement of the driver 106 can be suppressed.

  In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated the structure provided with the temperature detection element in the heating area, it is not limited to this, For example, you may detect the temperature of a heating area from the outside.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the heater 104, the sub-heater 105, and the driver 106 are arranged for each heating area 107, and a plurality of heating areas 107 are arranged on the recording element substrate. As a result, it was possible to realize a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below. In the configuration of the first embodiment, the temperature distribution of the recording element substrate 101 can be controlled uniformly. However, when attention is paid to the heating area 107, the temperature distribution in the heating area 107 is biased by the heat generated by the driver 106. May occur and image quality may be degraded. Therefore, in the present embodiment, uneven temperature distribution in the heating area is suppressed, and further, the size of the sub heater is reduced.

  FIG. 2A is a view showing the recording element substrate 201 of the present embodiment. In the recording element substrate 201 in the present embodiment, four units of sub heaters 205 and drivers 206 (hereinafter referred to as units 207) are arranged per heating area 107.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a circuit for driving the sub-heater 205 in the recording element substrate 201. Four sub-heaters 205 are connected in parallel via a driver 206, and four drivers 206 arranged in one heating area 107 are controlled by the same sub-heater control signal. That is, a plurality of sub heaters 205 can be driven for each heating area 107. By heating the heating area 107 with a plurality of units in this way, the drivers 206 as heat generation sources are also distributed and the temperature distribution in the area can be suppressed. Therefore, in the configuration of the present embodiment, conventionally, in order to suppress heat generation, it has been necessary to increase the driver size (area) and reduce the resistance. However, it is not necessary to reduce the size of the driver 206. Become. Further, by connecting a plurality of units in the heating area 107 in parallel, the size of the sub-heater 205 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the four sub-heaters 205 and the driver 206 pairs (units) are provided in the heating area 107, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of units may be provided depending on the use situation. That's fine.

When the heat generation amount per heating area 107 in the recording element substrate 101 in FIG. 1A is W, the resistance value of one sub-heater is Rsh1, the resistance value of one driver is Ron1, and the voltage is V, the heat generation amount W Can be expressed as in Equation 1.
W = (V ^ 2) / (Rsh1 + Ron1) (Formula 1)

Since the recording element substrate 201 shown in FIG. 2A has a four-parallel circuit configuration, the heat generation amount W per heating area 107 can be expressed as Equation 2.
W = 4 × ((V ^ 2) / (4 × Rsh1 + 4 × Ron1)) (Expression 2)
It becomes.

  From Equation 2, it can be seen that the resistance value of the sub-heater 205 needs to be designed to be four times that of the sub-heater 105 in FIG. 1A, and the resistance value of the driver 206 needs to be designed to be four times that of the driver 106 in FIG. As a result, the size of the driver 206 per unit becomes 1/4 of the size of the driver 106, but since there are four units per heating area 107, the total area does not change. The resistance value of the sub-heater 205 needs to be four times that of the sub-heater 105. However, since the length of the sub-heater is 1/4, the thickness of the sub-heater 205 is 1/16 that of the sub-heater 105. The heater size can be reduced.

  As described above, the heater 104, the sub-heater 105, and the driver 106 are arranged as a plurality of units for each heating area 107, and the plurality of heating areas 107 are arranged on the recording element substrate. As a result, it was possible to realize a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 3A is a view showing the recording element substrate 301 of this embodiment, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a part of the heating area 308. In the printing element substrate 301 of the present embodiment, the independent supply ports 303 are arranged on both sides of the heater 304 (heater array). By making the independent supply port 303 symmetrical with respect to the heater 304, the foaming of the liquid is also symmetric, so that the liquid to be ejected can land on the paper surface with high accuracy and high image quality can be realized. In addition, since the liquid supply after the discharge is performed from the independent supply ports 303 on both sides, the discharge frequency can be increased and the speed can be increased. Further, the units (sub-heaters and drivers) are arranged evenly in the heating area. In the present embodiment, the arrangement of sub-heaters in such a layout will be described.

  Similar to the independent supply port 303, the sub-heater 305 is disposed symmetrically on both sides with respect to the heater 304. Since the liquid generally has a characteristic that the viscosity decreases at a high temperature, if the liquid is heated by a sub-heater disposed asymmetrically with respect to the heater, the balance of the viscosity is lost on the left and right, and the liquid foam shape becomes asymmetric. As a result, there is a possibility that the landing position accuracy of the discharged liquid droplets on the paper surface is lowered. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sub heater 305 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the heater 304 (discharge port), so that the influence on the droplet landing accuracy is reduced even if the sub heater is heated.

  The driver 306 is disposed outside the independent supply port 303, and the sub heater 305 and the driver 306 are connected by a wiring 311. The wiring 311 has a sufficiently lower resistance than the sub-heater 305 and the driver 306, and has less influence on heat generation. The driver 306 may be disposed in the vicinity of the heater 304, but in that case, there is a concern that the distance between the heater 304 and the independent supply port 303 increases, and the supply of the liquid after ejection is delayed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the driver 306 is disposed outside the independent supply port 303, and the liquid ejection performance is emphasized. Further, the driver 306 is disposed outside the independent supply port 303, that is, the row 303 a of the independent supply port 303 is provided between the row 304 a of the heater 304 and the row 305 a of the sub-heater 305 and the row 306 a of the driver 306. It has been. Accordingly, the distance between the sub-heater 305 and the heater 304, which are heat sources, and the driver 306 can be increased, so that the influence of the heating on the driver 306 can be suppressed, and driving with higher reliability can be performed. .

  In the recording element substrate 301, the end heating area 307 provided adjacent to the pad 102 (that is, the heating area arranged at the end in the column direction of the heater 304) is another heating area not adjacent to the pad 102. It is narrower than 308. This is because heat is dissipated through the electrical connection portion in the vicinity of the pad 102, and the temperature distribution gradient becomes larger than in other areas, so that this influence is suppressed. For this reason, the control area of the end heating area 307 is narrowed. On the other hand, since the temperature gradient is relatively gentle in the portion far from the pad 102, the control area of the heating area 308 can be relatively wide. As in the above-described embodiment, the four drivers 306 arranged in one end heating area 307 are controlled by the same sub heater control signal 108. In addition, the eight drivers 306 arranged in one other heating area 308 are controlled by the same sub heater control signal 108. As described above, the number of sub-heaters 305 and the number of drivers 306 included in one end heating area 307 are smaller than the number of sub-heaters 305 and the number of drivers 306 included in other heating areas 308.

  Further, the heating area in the recording element substrate 301 is shared by the A and B rows and the C and D rows in the long side direction. In this embodiment, liquids of the same color are supplied to the A row and the B row, and the C row and the D row, respectively. Since the liquid ejection drive of the same color column is equally distributed among the columns with respect to the image, the temperature rise profile and the heat distribution between the same color columns are substantially the same. Therefore, in this embodiment, the temperature detection elements 309 are arranged only in the representative A and C rows, and the heating area is also shared between the same color rows.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a circuit for driving the sub-heater 305 in the recording element substrate 301. In the end heating area 307, the four units 310 are controlled by the same sub-heater control signal 108. On the other hand, in the heating area 308, the eight units 310 are controlled by the same sub heater control signal. The amount of heat generated by each unit 310 is the same, and only the number of units 310 to be connected per signal of the sub heater control signal 108 is changed.

  Thus, the temperature control sequence is simplified by making the heating amount per area equal regardless of the place. If there are a plurality of types of sub-heaters 305 and the amount of heat generated varies depending on the area, it is necessary to perform temperature control with reference to a plurality of control tables corresponding to the types of sub-heaters 305. However, in the configuration of the present invention, since the amount of heat generated in each unit 310 is uniform, temperature control is possible with one type of control table.

  The plurality of temperature detection elements 309 are arranged at the same position with respect to the unit 310. As a result, the temperature detection element 309 is equally affected by the heating of the sub-heater 305, and therefore, temperature accuracy variation due to the position of the temperature detection element 309 can be suppressed.

  In this way, the independent supply port and the sub heater are arranged symmetrically on both sides with respect to the heater, and the heater 104, the sub heater 105, and the driver 106 are arranged for each heating area 107. Further, while arranging the plurality of heating areas 107 on the recording element substrate, the number of units that can be controlled by the same sub-heater control signal is reduced in the vicinity of the connection terminal. As a result, it was possible to realize a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

  In this embodiment, the row of independent supply ports 303 is arranged on both sides of the heater 304 (heater row). However, the row of the independent supply ports 303 on one side of the row of heaters 304 is connected with liquid. It is good also as a row of discharge outlets to discharge. In other words, any configuration may be used as long as opening rows through which liquid passes, such as a row of supply ports 303 and a row of discharge ports, are arranged on both sides of the row of heaters 304. Thereby, the liquid can be circulated through the supply port 303, the heater 304, and the discharge port.

(Fourth embodiment)
The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a layout of the heating area in the recording element substrate of the present embodiment. The layout and circuit diagram of the heater and the independent supply port on the printing element substrate are omitted because they are not significantly different from the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the sub-heaters 405 are provided so as to pass between the heaters 304 in the arrangement direction of the heaters 304 and between the independent supply ports 303. That is, the sub-heater 405 extends along a direction that intersects the arrangement direction of the heaters 304 (in the present embodiment and the like, a direction that is orthogonal). The sub-heater 405 is provided so as to cross the row of heaters 304 and the row of independent supply ports 303. The sub-heaters 405 and the sub-heaters 405 and the driver 406 are connected by wiring 311. The wiring 311 has a low resistance value with respect to the sub-heater 405 and the driver 406, and is less affected by heat generation.

  The configuration of the recording element substrate in the present embodiment can reduce the distance between the independent supply port 303 and the heater 304 as compared with the configuration of FIG. As a result, it is possible to realize high speed discharge.

  As described above, the independent supply ports are arranged symmetrically on both sides with respect to the heater, and the sub heater 405 is provided so as to pass between the independent supply ports 303 in the arrangement direction of the heaters 304. Further, a heater 104, a sub heater 105, and a driver 106 are arranged for each heating area 107, and a plurality of heating areas 107 are arranged on the recording element substrate, and a unit that can be controlled by the same sub heater control signal in the vicinity of the connection terminal. Reduce the number. As a result, it was possible to realize a recording element substrate and a recording apparatus that can suppress a decrease in image quality.

(Recording head and recording apparatus)
An example of an ink jet recording head on which the recording element substrate of the above-described embodiment is mounted and a recording apparatus using the ink jet recording head will be described.

  FIG. 5A is a schematic perspective view for explaining a configuration example of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 using the ink jet recording head 120. The recording apparatus 1 of this example is a so-called full-line system, and uses a long recording head 120 that extends over the entire width direction of the recording medium P. The recording medium P is continuously transported in the direction of arrow A by a transport mechanism 130 using a transport belt or the like. An image is recorded on the recording medium P by ejecting ink (liquid) from the recording head 120 while conveying the recording medium P in the direction of arrow A. In the case of the present embodiment, by using the recording heads 120C, 120M, 120Y, and 120Bk that discharge cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) inks as the recording head 120, A color image can be recorded.

  FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the recording head 120. The recording head 120 according to the present embodiment is a full structure in which a plurality of recording element substrates 402 are arranged along a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction (arrow A direction) of the recording medium P (substantially orthogonal in this embodiment). Multi head. The recording element substrate 402 is provided with a heater as an element for generating ejection energy for ejecting ink. Various elements such as a piezo element can be used as the ejection energy generating element. Further, a discharge port corresponding to a heater (element) is formed in a top plate (not shown), and a pressure chamber is formed between the top plate and the recording element substrate 402. Although FIG. 5B shows the parallelogram-shaped substrate 402 whose interior angle is not a right angle, a rectangular substrate as shown in the above-described embodiment may be used.

101 Recording element substrate 105 Sub heater 106 Driver 107 Heating area 109 Temperature detection element

Claims (17)

A first heating means array in which a plurality of first heating means used for foaming a liquid is a recording element substrate that ejects liquid droplets from an ejection port by foaming a liquid, and the first A plurality of second heating means provided in the vicinity of the heating means and used for heating the recording element substrate; and a second heating means array arranged along the first heating means array. In the element substrate,
A recording element substrate, wherein a plurality of driving means for driving the second heating means includes a driving means array arranged along the first heating means array. At least one of the first heating means, at least one of the second heating means, and at least one of the driving means is provided in a predetermined region;
The driving means in the region drives the second heating means in the region;
2. The recording element substrate according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the regions are arranged to constitute the first heating means row, the second heating means row, and the driving means row. Comprising temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording element substrate;
The recording element substrate according to claim 2, wherein the temperature detection unit is provided in the region.   The plurality of regions having the same positional relationship among the first heating unit, the second heating unit, the driving unit, and the temperature detection unit are arranged. Recording element substrate.   5. The recording element substrate according to claim 4, wherein the positional relationship among the first heating unit, the second heating unit, the driving unit, and the temperature detection unit is the same in all the regions. .   The recording element substrate according to claim 1, wherein one of the driving units drives one of the second heating units.   The recording element substrate according to claim 1, wherein one driving unit drives a plurality of the second heating units.   The recording element according to claim 1, further comprising a supply port extending along the first heating means row, wherein the liquid supplied from the supply port is discharged. substrate.   The recording element substrate according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of openings through which the liquid passes includes an opening array arranged along the first heating means array.   The recording element substrate according to claim 9, wherein the opening rows are provided symmetrically on both sides of the first heating means row.   The recording element substrate according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second heating means row is provided between the first heating means row and the opening row.   The recording element substrate according to claim 9, wherein the opening row is provided between the first heating unit row and the driving unit row.   The recording element substrate according to claim 2, wherein the second heating unit can be driven for each region. A plurality of connection terminals are provided at the end,
The number of the second heating means and the driving means in the area adjacent to the connection terminal is smaller than the number of the second heating means and the driving means in the area not adjacent to the connection terminal. The recording element substrate according to claim 13.   The recording element substrate according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the liquid is ink, and the plurality of first heating means in the region can eject ink of the same color.   16. The recording element substrate according to claim 1, wherein the power supplied to the second heating unit is the same as the power supplied to the first heating unit. . A first heating means array in which a plurality of first heating means used for foaming a liquid is a recording element substrate that ejects liquid droplets from an ejection port by foaming a liquid, and the first A plurality of second heating means provided in the vicinity of the heating means and used for heating the recording element substrate; and a second heating means array arranged along the first heating means array. In a recording apparatus provided with an element substrate,
A recording apparatus comprising: a plurality of driving means for driving the second heating means, the driving element array arranged along the first heating means array on the recording element substrate.

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