JP2022072858A - Recording device and detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

To specify a portion where a liquid is not supplied to a discharge port.SOLUTION: A recording device includes a discharge port forming member having a plurality of discharge ports 205, a substrate on which the discharge port forming member is arranged, a thermometer 208 which measures a temperature of the substrate, a drive part 319 which drives heaters 212, which correspond to the plurality of discharge ports 205 respectively, in each group of the heaters allotted to each of the mutually-adjacent discharge ports out of the plurality of discharge ports 205, and a determination part 317 which determines whether the liquid is supplied to the discharge port 205 belonging to the group on the basis of the temperature measured by the thermometer 208 for each group where the heater 212 is driven by the drive part 319.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a recording device and a detection method.

In an inkjet recording device, which is generally configured to replace and use an ink tank, it is important to inform the user whether or not there is a risk of running out of ink during recording prior to recording. In a recording device using a thermal inkjet recording method, a method of detecting a temperature change of a recording head before and after driving a heater to determine an ink remaining amount is known. As a method of estimating the remaining amount of ink based on the temperature change of the recording head, Patent Document 1 describes the amount of temperature change of the recording head and the recording head when heat energy to the extent that the ink is not ejected from the recording head is applied to the ink. Disclosed is a technique for determining the presence or absence of ink based on the result of comparing the ratio with the amount of temperature change of the recording head when the heat energy to which the ink is ejected is applied to the ink with a reference value.

Patent No. 3133866

However, in the method for determining the presence or absence of ink based on the temperature change of the recording head described in Patent Document 1, the presence or absence of liquid such as ink is determined based on the temperature change when thermal energy is applied to the entire recording head. be. Therefore, there is a problem that the portion where the liquid is not supplied to the discharge port cannot be specified.
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device and a detection method capable of identifying a portion where a liquid is not supplied to a discharge port.

The recording device of the present invention is
In a recording device that applies heat energy to a liquid using a heater and discharges the liquid from a plurality of discharge ports.
The discharge port forming member having the plurality of discharge ports and the
The substrate on which the discharge port forming member is arranged and
A thermometer that measures the temperature of the substrate and
A drive unit that drives the heater corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports for each group distributed to each discharge port adjacent to each other.
For each group in which the heater is driven, a determination unit for determining whether or not the liquid is supplied to the discharge port belonging to the group based on the temperature measured by the thermometer, and a determination unit.
A recording device characterized by having.

According to the present invention, it is possible to identify a portion where the liquid is not supplied to the discharge port.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the inkjet recording apparatus. It is a figure which shows the inkjet recording head shown in FIG. It is a block block diagram of the control system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. It is a drive timing chart and a drive block diagram of the heater shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the time change of the temperature by driving a heater. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the state of the inkjet recording head which generated the bubble in the discharge port. It is a flowchart for demonstrating 1st example of the process of detecting the presence / absence of ink. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the state of the inkjet recording head which generated the bubble in the discharge port. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 2nd example of the process of detecting the presence / absence of ink.

The liquid discharge head can be mounted on a device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication function, a word processor having a printing function, and an industrial recording device combined with various processing devices. Using this liquid discharge head, recording can be performed on various recording media (hereinafter referred to as media) such as paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramics. As used in the present specification, "recording" means not only giving an image having a meaning such as characters or figures to a medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium. Also means. Further, "ink" should be widely interpreted, and is a liquid that is applied on a medium to form an image, a pattern, a pattern, etc., process a medium, or process an ink or a medium. Means. Here, as the processing required for the ink or the medium, for example, improvement of fixability by solidification or insolubilization of the coloring material in the ink applied to the medium, improvement of recording quality or color development, improvement of image durability, etc. Say that.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, configurations having the same function may be given the same number in the drawings, and the description thereof may be omitted.
(Inkjet recording device)

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing an inkjet recording device (liquid ejection device). Reference numerals 100 and 101 are recording heads integrally configured with the ink tank. The recording heads 100 and 101 are liquid discharge head units that can be mounted on an inkjet recording device. The recording heads 100 and 101 are not limited to the ink tank integrated recording head as shown in FIG. 1A, and may have a configuration separable from the ink tank. The ink tank on the recording head 100 side contains black ink, and the ink tank on the recording head 101 side contains cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink. The configuration of the recording head 100 and the configuration of the recording head 101 are the same as each other except for the ink to be accommodated. The recording heads 100 and 101 are formed with a plurality of ejection ports 102 arranged corresponding to inks of each color. Reference numeral 103 is a transport roller, and 104 is an auxiliary roller. The transport roller 103 and the auxiliary roller 104 cooperate to rotate the recording medium P, which is a medium, in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 (a), thereby moving the recording medium P in the sub-scanning direction of the arrow Y. Transport intermittently. Reference numeral 105 is a paper feed roller, which feeds the recording medium P and, like the transport roller 103 and the auxiliary roller 104, also plays a role of sandwiching and holding the recording medium P. Reference numeral 106 denotes a carriage on which the recording heads 100 and 101 can be mounted, and the carriage is reciprocated in the main scanning direction (X1, X2 directions) along the arrow X. The carriage 106 moves to the broken line home position h shown in FIG. 1A and stands by when recording is not performed or when the recording heads 100 and 101 are restored. In the recording apparatus of this embodiment, the size of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded is A4 size. Reference numeral 107 is a platen, which plays a role of stably supporting the recording medium P at the recording position. Reference numeral 108 denotes a carriage belt for moving the carriage 106 in the main scanning direction.
(Head unit)

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the recording head 100 shown in FIG. 1A. The inkjet recording head 121 as a liquid discharge head provided in the recording head 100 is conducting to a contact pad 124 connected to the inkjet recording device via a flexible film wiring board 123. The recording head 100 shown in FIG. 1B has a configuration in which the inkjet recording head 121 and the ink tank 122 are integrated, but the ink tank 122 can also be a separate type that can be separated.
(Inkjet recording head)

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the inkjet recording head 121 shown in FIG. 1B. As shown in FIG. 2A, the inkjet recording head 121 shown in FIG. 1B is arranged on the inkjet recording head substrate 201 (hereinafter referred to as the substrate 201) as the liquid ejection head substrate and the substrate 201. It has a discharge port forming member 204. The substrate 201 is provided with a heater 212 that generates heat energy used for ejecting ink. Further, the substrate 201 is provided with terminals (not shown) for electrical connection with an external device such as a supply port 207 for supplying ink and an inkjet recording device. The discharge port forming member 204 can be provided with a cured product of a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, and has a discharge port 205 for discharging a liquid and a wall 204a of a pressure chamber 209 communicating with the discharge port 205. are doing. A pressure chamber 209 is provided by contacting the discharge port forming member 204 with the substrate 201 with the wall 204a inside. The discharge ports 205 provided in the discharge port forming member 204 are provided so as to form a line at a predetermined pitch along the supply port 207 provided in the substrate 201. The heater 212 is provided corresponding to each of the discharge ports 205.
The ink supplied from the supply port 207 is carried to the pressure chamber 209, and the ink is boiled by the heat energy generated by the heater 212 to generate bubbles. The recording operation is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection port 205 by the bubbles. If there are bubbles at the inlet of the ejection port 205 or the pressure chamber 209, the bubbles interfere with the supply of ink to the ejection port 205, and normal recording operation cannot be performed. Further, a thermometer 208 is provided on the substrate 201, and the thermometer 208 measures the temperature of the substrate 201 provided with the discharge port forming member 204. The thermometer 208 is, for example, a diode sensor.

FIG. 2B is a schematic view of the inkjet recording head 121 shown in FIG. 2A as viewed from the direction A. A plurality of discharge ports 205 are arranged in each of the discharge port rows 218 and 219. Below each of the ejection ports 205, a heater 212 for generating bubbles in the ink and ejecting the ink from the ejection port 205 is provided. As described above, a plurality of discharge ports 205 are provided so as to form the discharge port rows 218 and 219, and a plurality of heaters 212 are provided corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports 205. In the present embodiment, the number of discharge ports 205 arranged on the discharge port rows 218 and 219 is 600, the interval between the discharge ports 205 is 1/600 inch, and the recording pixel density is 600 dpi. ing.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the control system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. Each component of the control system shown in FIG. 3 can be roughly classified into a software system control means and a hardware system processing means. The software control means includes a processing means such as an image input unit 303 for accessing the main bus line 305, an image signal processing unit 304, and a CPU 300 which is a central control unit. The hardware processing means includes an operation unit 308, a recovery system control circuit 309, a head temperature control circuit 314, a head drive control circuit 316, a carriage drive control circuit 306, and a paper feed control circuit 307. included.

The carriage drive control circuit 306 is a control circuit for driving the carriage 106 in the main scanning direction.
The paper feed control circuit 307 is a control circuit for transporting the recording medium P in the sub-scanning direction.
The CPU 300 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a determination unit 317, a thermal energy control unit 318, and a drive unit 319. The ROM 301 is a memory for storing preset threshold values and programs. The RAM 302 plays a role of storing values such as conditions read from the ROM 301 and a program so that the CPU 300 can execute the program, and a work memory used by the CPU 300 when performing a predetermined calculation. This condition is, for example, a recovery condition of the preliminary discharge condition from the discharge port 205, and the CPU 300 gives the recovery condition read from the RAM 302 to the recovery system control circuit 309, the recording heads 100, 101, and the like. The drive unit 319 gives appropriate recording conditions to the input information and drives the heater 212 in the recording heads 100 and 101. The drive unit 319 instructs the head drive control circuit 316 to drive the heater 212 corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports 205 to each group distributed to each of the plurality of discharge ports 205 adjacent to each other. do. This group will be described later. When the determination unit 317 determines the presence or absence of ink, the drive unit 319 instructs the head drive control circuit 316 to drive the heater 212 to such an extent that the ink is not discharged from the ejection port 205. This process may be performed by the thermal energy control unit 318. In this way, the heater 212 gives the ink a level of heat energy that does not eject the ink from the ejection port 205. The determination unit 317 determines whether or not ink is supplied to the discharge port 205 belonging to the group based on the temperature measured by the thermometer 208 for each group in which the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212. The determination unit 317 measures the amount of temperature rise with respect to time measured by the thermometer 208 when the drive unit 319 is driving the heater 212, and the time measured by the thermometer 208 after the drive of the heater 212 is stopped. Based on the amount of temperature drop with respect to the above, it is determined whether or not ink is supplied to the ejection port 205 belonging to the group. At this time, when the temperature rise amount is smaller than the first threshold value and the temperature decrease amount is larger than the second threshold value, the determination unit 317 determines that the ink is supplied to the ejection port 205 belonging to the group. .. The thermal energy control unit 318 controls the heat energy applied to the ink by using the heater 212 according to the distance between the group to which the discharge port 205 corresponding to the heater 212 driven by the drive unit 319 belongs and the thermometer 208. do. At this time, the heat energy control unit 318 uses the heater 212 to generate a larger amount of heat energy as the distance between the group to which the discharge port 205 corresponding to the heater 212 driven by the drive unit 319 belongs and the thermometer 208 increases. Give to ink.

The image input unit 303 receives image data, commands, status signals, etc. transmitted from an external device (host device) connected to the recording device. The recovery motor 310 drives the recording heads 100 and 101, the cleaning blade 311 and the cap 312, and the suction pump 313. The cleaning blade 311 and the cap 312 move relative to the recording heads 100 and 101. In order to determine the presence or absence of ink, when ink droplets are ejected from the recording heads 100 and 101 as described later, the ink droplets can be ejected toward the inside of the cap 312. A detection signal of the thermistor 315 that detects the ambient temperature of the recording device and a detection signal of a thermometer 208 such as a diode sensor that detects the temperature of each substrate 201 of the recording heads 100 and 101 are input to the head temperature control circuit 314. To. The head drive control circuit 316 drives the heater 212 of the recording heads 100 and 101 based on the output value of the head temperature control circuit 314 to eject ink, pre-discharge ink, and adjust the ink temperature for heat retention control. To do. Further, the head drive control circuit 316 drives the heater 212 according to an instruction from the drive unit 319. When driving the heater 212, a recording signal (DATA), a clock signal (CLK) for transferring the recording signal, and a drive signal (HE) for driving the heater 212 from the recording device to the recording heads 100 and 101. And a latch signal (LT) for latching the recorded signal to the holding circuit is sent.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a timing chart of a drive signal for driving the heater 212 shown in FIG. FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing a logic circuit for driving the heater 212 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, recording is performed by inputting a recording signal (DATA) in synchronization with the clock signal (CLK) and then setting the signal level of the Low active latch signal (LT) to the Low level. The signal (DATA_LTD) is fixed. After that, by setting the signal level of the Low active drive signal (HE) to the Low level, a drive voltage is applied to the heater 212 selected by the driver, and ink is ejected from the ejection port 205 corresponding to the heater 212. To. The signal levels of the latch signal (LT) and the drive signal (HE) are high levels that are disabled until the input of the recording signal (DATA) is completed.
(Method of determining the presence or absence of ink in the ejection port)

Hereinafter, a method for detecting the presence or absence of ink in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. When a pulse voltage having a certain width is applied to the heater 212 to eject ink from the ejection port 205, heat energy is transferred on the substrate 201 to raise the temperature of the substrate 201 and the ink, and a part of the ink is ejected. It is taken to the outside of the inkjet recording device together with the ink. Therefore, compared to the case where the ink is present in the ejection port 205 and the ink is ejected normally, when the ink is not present in the ejection port 205 and the ink is not ejected normally, the ink is ejected together with the ink to be ejected. The energy given to the substrate 201 increases by the amount that should be taken to the outside of the inkjet recording apparatus. Further, after the heat energy is input, the heated substrate 201 dissipates heat through the ink. Therefore, compared to the case where the ink is present in the ejection port 205 and the ink is ejected normally, when the ink is not present in the ejection port 205 and the ink is not ejected normally, the substrate 201 has a longer time. It keeps the temperature.

FIG. 5 shows the thermometer 208 after driving the heater 212 and stopping the driving so as to give the ink heat energy to the extent that the ink is not ejected from all the ejection ports for ejecting the black ink of the recording head 100. It is a graph which shows the time change of an output value with and without ink. Here, the heater drive operation for 6500 shots is performed with a drive frequency of 24 kHz. In the graph shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that when the heater 212 started from time 0 sec is driven until time 0.27 sec, the temperature, which is the output value of the thermometer 208, changes significantly during that time. After the drive of the heater 212 is stopped, the maximum value of the head temperature obtained from the output value of the thermometer 208 and the rate of change of the temperature decrease per hour differ depending on whether the recording head 100 has ink or not. This is because when the recording head 100 has ink, the heat capacity increases by the amount of ink as compared with the case where the recording head 100 does not have ink. It gets lower. Further, when the recording head 100 has ink as compared with the case where there is no ink, heat is dissipated through the ink, so that the amount of temperature decrease per hour becomes large. By performing such a measurement, the maximum value of the head temperature change immediately after the heater 212 is driven and the temperature drop amount after the driving are obtained in advance between the case where the recording head 100 has no ink and the case where the recording head 100 has ink. By utilizing the characteristics obtained in this way and detecting the temporal change of the temperature measured by the thermometer 208, the presence or absence of ink can be detected.
(Example 1)

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first example of the state of the inkjet recording head 121 in which bubbles are generated in the discharge port 205. As shown in FIG. 6, when bubbles 600 are generated in the discharge port 205 and the pressure chamber 209, ink is not supplied to the discharge port 205 arranged in the portion where the bubbles 600 are generated. In FIG. 6, the ejection port row 218 arranged in the inkjet recording head 121 is evenly divided into a plurality of groups 601, 602, 603, 604, and the ejection port row 219 is divided into a plurality of groups 611, 612, 613, 614. The case where the bubble 600 is generated in the group 601 is shown by dividing it evenly. Each of the groups 601 to 604 and 611 to 614 has an equal number of discharge ports. In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the bubbles 600 are generated in the group 601 the ink is not supplied to the ejection port 205 arranged in the group 601. The positions of the groups 601 to 604 and 611 to 614 are registered when they are set, and it is possible to recognize which group is arranged at which position and which discharge port belongs to which group.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a first example of the process of detecting the presence or absence of ink for each group. First, the plurality of discharge ports are divided into a plurality of groups so that the number of discharge ports is even (step S101). In the example shown in FIG. 6, the discharge ports arranged in a straight line in the discharge port row 218 are included in any of the groups 601 to 604 so that three adjacent discharge ports are included in one group. Discharge ports arranged in a straight line in the discharge port row 219 are distributed to any of groups 611 to 614. The method of evenly dividing the drive group is not limited to the method of separately dividing the discharge port row 218 and the discharge port row 219, but is a method of dividing the discharge port row 218 and the discharge port row 219 into a group straddling the discharge port row 219. May be.

After dividing the discharge port 205 into a plurality of groups, the CPU 300 selects a group in which the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 (step S102). Here, the CPU 300 selects a group in which the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 in order from the group having the longest distance from the thermometer 208. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 300 first selects groups 601, 611, then groups 602, 612, then groups 603, 613, and finally groups 604, 614. do. Subsequently, the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 corresponding to the discharge port 205 belonging to the selected group (step S103). Then, the thermometer 208 measures the temporal change of the temperature from driving the heater 212 to a predetermined time after stopping the driving (step S104).

Subsequently, the determination unit 317 determines whether or not ink is supplied to the ejection port belonging to the group based on the temporal change of the temperature measured by the thermometer in step S104 (step S105). The specific determination method is as described above. It should be noted that the threshold value for determining whether or not ink is supplied may be changed based on the attenuation of the temperature information according to the distance between the thermometer 208 and the group that drives the heater 212. The determination unit 317 stores the determination result in the RAM 302. The CPU 300 determines whether or not the processing of steps S102 to S105 has been performed in all the groups (step S106), and if there is a group in which the processing of steps S102 to S105 has not been performed, the CPU 300 performs the processing of steps S102 to S105. The processing of steps S102 to S105 is performed by selecting a group that has not been performed. At this time, the identification numbers may be assigned in order from the group having the longest distance from the thermometer 208, and the identification numbers to be processed in steps S102 to S105 may be incremented (step S107). In this way, the processes of steps S102 to S105 are sequentially performed for each group. In this way, the CPU 300 sequentially selects from the group arranged at a position far from the thermometer 208, and the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 corresponding to the discharge port 205 belonging to the selected group. Do not put a group that has already been driven and generated heat between the thermometer 208 and the group to be measured. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in detection accuracy due to the heat history of the group that has been driven and generated heat.

When the processing of steps S102 to S105 is performed in all the groups, the CPU 300 determines whether or not there is a group to which ink is not supplied based on the result of the processing of step S105 (step S108). When there is a group to which ink is not supplied, the recovery system control circuit 309 performs recovery processing on the discharge port 205 and the pressure chamber 209 belonging to the corresponding group (step S109). On the other hand, if there is no group to which ink is not supplied, the process ends.
(Example 2)

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second example of the state of the inkjet recording head 121 in which bubbles are generated in the discharge port 205. As shown in FIG. 8, when bubbles 800 are generated in the discharge port 205 and the pressure chamber 209, ink is not supplied to the discharge ports 205 arranged in a part of the section where the bubbles 800 are generated. In FIG. 8, the discharge port row 218 arranged in the inkjet recording head 121 is divided into a plurality of groups 801,802,803,804, and the discharge port row 219 is divided into a plurality of groups 811,812,815,814. The case where the bubble 800 is generated in the group 802 is shown. Each of the groups 801 to 804 and 811 to 814 belongs to a number of discharge ports according to the distance from the thermometer 208. The farther the distance from the thermometer 208 is, the larger the number belonging to the group is, the more the discharge port 205 is divided into groups. In the example shown in FIG. 8, since the bubbles 800 are generated in the group 802, the ink is not supplied to the ejection port 205 arranged in the group 802. The positions of the groups 801 to 804 and 811 to 814 are registered when they are set, and it is possible to recognize which group is arranged at which position and which discharge port belongs to which group. In this way, by changing and dividing the number of heaters to be driven according to the distance from the thermometer 208, it is corrected that the thermal energy is attenuated by the distance from the drive group to the thermometer 208.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a second example of the process of detecting the presence or absence of ink for each group. First, the discharge port 205 is divided into a plurality of groups so that the number belonging to the group increases as the distance from the thermometer 208 increases (step S201). In the example shown in FIG. 8, each of the groups 801, 811 at the farthest distance from the thermometer 208 is distributed so as to include four adjacent discharge ports. Further, each of the groups 802 and 812 at the next longest distance is distributed so as to include three adjacent discharge ports. Further, each of the groups 803 and 813 at the next longest distance is distributed so as to include three adjacent discharge ports. Further, each of the groups 804 and 814 closest to the thermometer 208 is distributed so as to include two adjacent discharge ports. The method of dividing such a drive group is not limited to the method of separately dividing the discharge port row 218 and the discharge port row 219, but is a method of dividing the discharge port row 218 and the discharge port row 219 into a group straddling the discharge port row 218. May be there.

After dividing the discharge port 205 into a plurality of groups, the CPU 300 selects a group in which the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 (step S202). Here, the CPU 300 selects a group in which the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 in order from the group having the longest distance from the thermometer 208. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 300 first selects the groups 801, 811, then the groups 802, 812, then the groups 803, 813, and finally the groups 804, 814. do. Subsequently, the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 corresponding to the discharge port 205 belonging to the selected group (step S203). Then, the thermometer 208 measures the temporal change of the temperature from driving the heater 212 to a predetermined time after stopping the driving (step S204).

Subsequently, the determination unit 317 determines whether or not ink is supplied to the ejection port belonging to the group based on the temporal change of the temperature measured by the thermometer in step S204 (step S205). The specific determination method is as described above. It should be noted that the threshold value for determining whether or not ink is supplied may be changed based on the attenuation of the temperature information according to the distance between the thermometer 208 and the group that drives the heater 212. The determination unit 317 stores the determination result in the RAM 302. The CPU 300 determines whether or not the processes of steps S202 to S205 have been performed in all the groups (step S206), and if there is a group in which the processes of steps S202 to S205 have not been performed, the CPU 300 performs the processes of steps S202 to S205. The processing of steps S202 to S205 is performed by selecting a group that has not been performed. At this time, the identification numbers may be assigned in order from the group having the longest distance from the thermometer 208, and the identification numbers to be processed in steps S202 to S205 may be incremented (step S207). In this way, the processes of steps S202 to S205 are sequentially performed for each group. In this way, the CPU 300 sequentially selects from the group arranged at a position far from the thermometer 208, and the drive unit 319 drives the heater 212 corresponding to the discharge port 205 belonging to the selected group. Do not put a group that has already been driven and generated heat between the thermometer 208 and the group to be measured. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in detection accuracy due to the heat history of the group that has been driven and generated heat.

When the processing of steps S202 to S205 is performed in all the groups, the CPU 300 determines whether or not there is a group to which ink is not supplied based on the result of the processing of step S205 (step S208). When there is a group to which ink is not supplied, the recovery system control circuit 309 performs recovery processing on the discharge port 205 and the pressure chamber 209 belonging to the corresponding group (step S209). On the other hand, if there is no group to which ink is not supplied, the process ends.
(Example 3)

As another embodiment, the one using the control of the thermal energy control unit 318 shown in FIG. 3 can be mentioned. As described above, the thermal energy control unit 318 controls the thermal energy applied to the ink by using the heater 212 according to the distance between the group to which the discharge port 205 corresponding to the heater 212 belongs and the thermometer 208. .. Specifically, the thermal energy control unit 318 is larger by using the heater 212 as the distance between the group to which the discharge port 205 corresponding to the heater 212 driven by the drive unit 319 belongs and the thermometer 208 is farther. Gives heat energy to the ink. In this way, by controlling the heat energy given to the ink by using the heater 212 according to the distance between the group and the thermometer, it is corrected that the heat energy is attenuated by the distance from the drive group to the thermometer 208. do.

In the above, each component has been assigned to each function (process), but this allocation is not limited to the above. Further, the above-mentioned form is merely an example of the configuration of the constituent elements, and the present invention is not limited to this.

The processing performed by each of the above-mentioned components may be performed by a logic circuit manufactured according to the purpose. Further, a program in which the processing content is described as a procedure may be recorded on a recording medium readable by the CPU 300, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read by the CPU 300 and executed. Recording media that can be read by the CPU 300 include floppy disk (registered trademark) disk, magneto-optical disk, DVD (Digital Versaille Disc), CD (Compact Disc), Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, and USB (Universal Serial Bus). In addition to transferable recording media such as memory, it refers to memory such as ROM 301 and RAM 302 built in the information processing device, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like. The program recorded on this recording medium is read by the CPU 300, and the same processing as described above is performed under the control of the CPU. Here, the CPU 300 operates as a computer that executes a program read from a recording medium in which the program is recorded.

102,205 Discharge port 121 Inkjet recording head 208 Thermometer 212 Heater 218,219 Discharge port row 317 Judgment unit 319 Drive unit 601 to 604,611 to 614,801 to 804,811-814 Group

Claims (10)

In a recording device that applies heat energy to a liquid using a heater and discharges the liquid from a plurality of discharge ports.
The discharge port forming member having the plurality of discharge ports and the
The substrate on which the discharge port forming member is arranged and
A thermometer that measures the temperature of the substrate and
A drive unit that drives the heater corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports for each group distributed to each discharge port adjacent to each other.
For each group in which the heater is driven, a determination unit for determining whether or not the liquid is supplied to the discharge port belonging to the group based on the temperature measured by the thermometer, and a determination unit.
A recording device characterized by having. In the recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The determination unit determines the amount of temperature rise per hour measured by the thermometer when the heater is being driven, and the temperature drop per hour measured by the thermometer after the heater is stopped. A recording device that determines whether or not the liquid is supplied to a discharge port belonging to the group based on the amount. In the recording apparatus according to claim 2,
The determination unit determines that the liquid is supplied to the discharge port belonging to the group when the temperature increase amount is smaller than the first threshold value and the temperature decrease amount is larger than the second threshold value. Device. In the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A recording device having a thermal energy control unit that controls the thermal energy given to the liquid by using the heater according to the distance between the group and the thermometer. In the recording apparatus according to claim 4,
The thermal energy control unit is a recording device that gives a larger amount of thermal energy to the liquid from the heater as the distance between the group and the thermometer increases. In the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The drive unit is a recording device that drives heaters corresponding to discharge ports belonging to the group in order from the group in which the distance from the thermometer is long. In the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A recording device in which the farther the distance between the group and the thermometer is, the larger the number of discharge ports belonging to the group. In the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
The drive unit is a recording device that drives the heater so as to apply heat energy at a level that does not discharge the liquid from the discharge port to the liquid. In the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
A recording device in which a plurality of discharge ports belonging to one said group are arranged on a straight line. It is a detection method in a recording device that records on a medium using a recording head that applies heat energy to a liquid using a heater and discharges the liquid from a plurality of discharge ports.
The process of measuring the temperature of the substrate on which the discharge port forming member having a plurality of discharge ports is arranged, and
A process of driving the heater corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports for each group distributed to each of the plurality of discharge ports adjacent to each other.
A detection method comprising performing a process of determining whether or not the liquid is supplied to a discharge port belonging to the group based on the measured temperature for each group in which the heater is driven.

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