JP3015127B2 - Driving method of liquid jet recording head and recording apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for driving a recording head or a recording head integrated with an ink tank, which is applicable to a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, an ink jet recording apparatus and the like generally used for an ink jet recording head and office equipment. Optimally, the present invention relates to a recording head that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ink jet recording head and apparatus, a thermal energy recording method utilizing film boiling is as follows.
It is exceptional in comparison with the one using a piezoelectric element, and has been put to practical use as an excellent one in comparison with other thermal energy recording such as light energy.

[0003] It is also known that the recording head has a predetermined form of driving frequency in a predetermined form, and recording is performed without any problem when driving conditions within this range are given.

2. Description of the Related Art Although a recording head satisfies a predetermined response characteristic, it is sometimes necessary to perform recording beyond the characteristic.

[0005] In some cases, the characteristics of the recording head, which should be stable, are affected in some way and the recording characteristics are partially deteriorated. 7 and 13 are for explaining the problems recognized by the present invention. In the figure, the arrow indicates the relative movement direction between the recording head and the recording paper,
In this figure, 32 ejection ports of the recording head are provided in the vertical direction, and a character section formed by 32 × 32 is shown. Numeral 6 shown in FIG. 7 indicates a portion where the recording line is formed by about two droplets (corresponding to the minimum recording unit).
This portion 6 is a portion that normally has no problem in character formation, but has a slightly lower print density or a blurred image as compared with other portions.

On the other hand, in the rotational printing used in a word processor or the like, as shown in FIG. 13, the portion formed by about two droplets in the relative movement direction indicated by the arrow has increased in large quantities. I understand. Although the problem seen in FIG. 13 is not all of the recording portion formed by about two droplets (minimum recording unit), even a similar recording head
A relatively large number of density reduction portions 17 corresponding to the third to thirty-second discharge ports are generated. Even if there is no problem in this portion 17, the density reduction portions 16 rarely correspond to the first to fourth discharge ports. Was sometimes seen.

Further, when about two droplets (minimum recording unit) are concentrated in the boundary area of the character section, a minute droplet is brought to the adjacent character forming section, and the whole image quality is sometimes reduced. . Particularly in rare cases, when high-density character formation is performed at a relatively high speed, the density reduction part gradually increases, and the part that can be ignored from the initial general image quality triggers, Sometimes it created a big problem.

In the case of a recording head having a structure in which an ink tank and a head portion are integrated with each other and which is detachable from the apparatus and is replaceable, the suction pressure of a sponge as an absorber in the ink tank is reduced. On the contrary, since it is performed by relying on the natural force of the capillary phenomenon, there is also a difficult problem that the above problem is extremely uncertain due to a change in the suction pressure of the sponge. On the other hand, it is conceivable to reduce the suction pressure of the sponge so as to eliminate the influence of the suction pressure of the sponge, but this is not practical because the ink easily leaks from the ink tank.

[Summary of the Invention] The present invention provides various inventions based on the above clarification of the problems of the background art. The main object of the present invention is to form droplets under the influence of the characteristics of recording heads and unknown causes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejecting recording method and a liquid ejecting recording apparatus which can prevent a phenomenon in which ink is disturbed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid jet recording method and a liquid jet recording apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned problem without being limited to the configuration and the recording frequency of the liquid jet recording head.

According to the present invention, there are provided a plurality of discharge ports for discharging ink supplied from a liquid chamber through a liquid path, and discharge energy for causing a state change including formation of bubbles in the ink in the liquid path. And a discharge energy supply unit for discharging ink from the large number of discharge ports, wherein the plurality of discharge ports comprise a plurality of continuous discharge ports which can be simultaneously driven. A selecting step of sequentially selecting blocks at predetermined time intervals;
A first block selection driving step of, during the selection of a plurality of blocks, selecting a non-consecutive discharge port from among a plurality of discharge ports constituting each of the sequentially selected blocks to discharge ink; And, during the selection of a plurality of blocks in the selection step performed after the first block selection drive step, the first block selection drive of the plurality of ejection ports constituting each of the sequentially selected blocks. A second block selection drive step of selecting non-consecutive discharge ports that are not selected in the step to discharge ink, and discharging ink corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports. It is. According to the present invention, it is possible to solve the above-described problem of the liquid jet recording, record the liquid droplets to be recorded without thinning, and form a high-quality image visually and practically.

Further, the present invention includes a discharge port array in which a large number of discharge ports for discharging ink are arranged, a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the plurality of discharge ports, and formation of bubbles in the ink. Using a liquid ejection recording head comprising ejection energy supply means for ejecting ink from the large number of ejection ports by giving ejection energy causing a state change,
In the liquid jet recording apparatus for driving the liquid jet recording head during relative scanning of the liquid jet recording head with respect to a recording medium and performing recording in a row unit corresponding to the large number of ejection ports to record an image, Block selecting means for sequentially selecting, at predetermined time intervals, a plurality of blocks composed of a plurality of continuous discharge ports that can be simultaneously driven, and a plurality of discharge ports constituting a block selected by the selecting means Among them, an ejection port selection means for selecting an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a printing operation in a column unit corresponding to the large number of ejection ports, wherein a plurality of blocks are sequentially selected by the block selection means, A first drive control for ejecting ink by selecting a discharge port that is not continuous with each other from a plurality of discharge ports of each block by an outlet selection means; Thereby sequentially selecting the plurality of blocks by the block selection means subsequently control, out of a plurality of discharge ports of each block by said discharge port selecting means,
And a drive control means for performing a second drive control for discharging ink by selecting a discharge port which is not selected in the first drive control and which is not continuous with each other. According to the present invention, the recording required by the apparatus can be recorded under desired conditions without being influenced by the recording head, and the obtained image is also good.

Further, in the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the plurality of ejection ports are arranged along a direction inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to a scanning direction of the liquid jet recording head. Further, in addition to this configuration, of the plurality of blocks, selection is performed sequentially from the block that reaches the recording position first.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, shift printing in which a row-by-row recording operation corresponding to the plurality of ejection openings is performed by the first drive control and the second drive control by the drive control means. A mode and a normal print mode in which a plurality of blocks are sequentially selected by the block selecting means and a plurality of ejection ports of each block are simultaneously driven to perform a printing operation in a column unit corresponding to a large number of ejection ports can be changed. It is characterized by the following. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 11, the normal printing mode is adopted in the normal printing, and any one of the ruled line recording, the rotation recording, the 12P printing, the 14P printing, and the like, in which the above-described problem is likely to occur, is used. Or at least one
Thus, it is ideal that the problem can be solved by executing the shift print mode.

In any case, the present invention can rapidly and reliably supply the liquid to the liquid path or the discharge section, and can improve the recording response and stabilize the image quality. .

According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve recording in which recording responsiveness can be surely improved by using the above recording head.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described claims, and may use a piezoelectric element, light energy, a photomechanical conversion element, or a light-heat conversion element in addition to the thermal energy generation element as a recording element for liquid ejection. Additional features and aspects of the invention are set forth in the following description or drawings, and are described below.

[0017]

2 to 6 show preferred ink jet units IJU, ink jet heads IJH, ink tanks IT, ink jet cartridges IJC, and ink jet recording apparatus main units I to which the present invention is applied or applied.
It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating each of JRA and carriage HC, and each relationship. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described with reference to these drawings.

Ink cartridge IJ in this embodiment
C, as can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 3, has a large ink storage ratio, and has a shape in which the tip of the ink jet unit IJU projects slightly from the front surface of the ink tank IT. The ink cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by positioning means and electrical contacts of a cartridge HC (FIG. 5) mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is detachably attached to the cartridge HC. It is a disposable type. Examples 2 to 6 show configurations to which a number of new technologies achieved in the stage of establishment of the present invention have been applied. Therefore, these configurations will be briefly described and the entire configuration will be described. To

1) Description of the structure of the ink jet unit IJU The ink jet unit IJU is a bubble jet system in which recording is performed using an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for causing film boiling to occur in ink in response to an electric signal. Is a unit.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes an electrothermal transducer (discharge heater) arranged in a plurality of rows on an Si substrate and electric wiring of Al or the like for supplying electric power thereto by a film forming technique. It is a heater board composed of: Reference numeral 200 denotes a wiring board for the heater board 100,
It has a wire corresponding to the wire No. 0 (for example, connected by wire bonding) and a pad 201 located at an end of the wire and receiving an electric signal from the main unit.

Reference numeral 1300 denotes a grooved top plate provided with a partition for dividing a plurality of ink flow paths, a common liquid chamber for containing ink for supplying ink to each ink flow path, and the like.
An ink receiving port 1500 for receiving the ink supplied from the ink tank IT and introducing the ink into the above-described common liquid chamber, and an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of discharge ports corresponding to each ink flow path are integrally formed. Polysulfone is preferred as these integral molding materials, but other molding resin materials may be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of, for example, a metal for supporting the rear surface of the wiring board 200 on a plane, and serves as a bottom plate of the ink jet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a presser spring, which is M-shaped and presses the common liquid chamber at the center of the M-shape with light pressure, and concentrates a part of the liquid path, preferably an area near the discharge port, with linear pressure at the front drooping portion 501. Press. The foot of the spring pressing the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 is inserted into the hole 3121 of the support 300.
By engaging with the back side of the support 300 through the support board 300 and holding them together, the concentrated spring force of the presser spring 500 and the front drooping portion 501 causes the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 to be engaged. And crimped.
The support 300 includes two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT and a positioning and heat fusion holding protrusion 1802.
0,1801 and positioning holes 312,190
In addition to having 0, 2000, projections 2500, 2600 for positioning with respect to the carriage HC of the apparatus main body IJRA are provided on the back side. In addition, the support 300 is provided with an ink supply pipe 2200 that enables ink supply from the ink tank.
It also has a hole 320 that allows the passage of (described below). The attachment of the wiring board 200 to the support 300 is performed by sticking with an adhesive or the like. The concave portion 240 of the support 300
0 and 2400 are positioning projections 2500 and 2 respectively.
It is provided near 600 (on the back side). Then, the assembled ink cartridge IJC (FIG. 3)
Grooves 30 formed on three sides around the tip region of the head portion of FIG.
00,3001 on multiple extensions. Therefore, unnecessary substances such as dust and ink moved along the parallel grooves 3000 and 3001 are prevented from reaching the projections 2500 and 2600. This parallel groove 3000 is formed. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the lid member 800 forms the outer wall of the ink cartridge IJC and forms a space for accommodating the ink jet unit IJU with the ink tank. In addition, the ink supply member 600 having the parallel groove 3001 is connected to the ink conduit 1600 that is continuous with the ink supply tube 2200 described above.
The side 200 is formed as a fixed cantilever, and a sealing pin 602 for securing a capillary phenomenon between the fixed side of the ink conduit and the ink supply pipe 2200 is inserted. 601
Reference numeral 700 denotes a packing for sealing the connection between the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and reference numeral 700 denotes a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe.

Since the ink supply member 600 is formed by molding, it is inexpensive, has high positional accuracy, eliminates a decrease in precision in formation and manufacture, and also has a cantilevered structure for the ink supply conduit 1600. Therefore, the pressure contact state of the conduit 1600 with the ink receiving port 1500 can be stabilized, so that the structure is suitable for mass production. In this example, a more complete communication state can be reliably obtained only by pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under the pressure contact state. The ink supply member 6
00 is fixed to the support 300 by pressing a pin (not shown) on the back side of the ink supply member 600 with respect to the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300.
This can be easily performed by projecting through the support member 02 and thermally bonding the portion of the support body 300 projecting to the rear surface side. still,
The slightly protruded area of the heat-sealed rear surface is accommodated in a recess (not shown) in the side wall of the ink jet unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank IT, so that the unit IJ
The positioning surface of U is obtained accurately.

2) Description of Ink Tank IT Configuration The ink tank is composed of the cartridge body 1000, the ink absorber 900, and the ink absorber 900.
000 from the side opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface, and then a lid member 1100 for sealing the unit.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating the ink, which is arranged in the cartridge body 1000. 1
200 is a unit IJ consisting of the above parts 100 to 600
U and a supply port for supplying ink to the cartridge U.
It is also an injection port for performing ink impregnation of the absorber 900 by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a process before disposing it at 0.

In this embodiment, the ink supply portions are the air communication port and the supply port. The rib 2300 in the main body 1000 and the cover member for improving the ink supply from the ink absorber. 1100 partial rib 2302, 2
301 and the air presence area in the tank formed by
The ink supply port 12 is continuously connected from the air communication port 1401 side.
Since the configuration is formed over the corner region farthest from 00, it is important that relatively good and uniform ink supply to the absorber is performed from the supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. The rib 2300 has four ribs parallel to the carriage movement direction on the rear surface of the main body 1000 of the ink tank, and prevents the absorber from sticking to the rear surface.
Similarly, the partial ribs 2400 and 2500 are
Although it is provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 which is on an extension corresponding to 0, it is in a divided state unlike the rib 2300, so that the air existence space is increased from the former. Note that the partial ribs 2302 and 2301 are
00 are distributed on a surface that is less than half of the total area of 00. With these ribs, the ink in the corner region farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber could be more stably guided to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force. Reference numeral 1401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 1400 denotes a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the atmosphere communication port 1401;
This prevents ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

The above-described arrangement of the ribs is particularly effective because the ink storage space of the above-described ink tank IT has a rectangular shape and has long sides on the side surfaces. In the case of having a side or a cube, by providing a rib on the entire lid member 1100, the ink supply from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized. A rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for storing ink in a limited space as much as possible, but in order to use this stored ink for recording without waste, as described above,
It is important to provide a rib that can perform the above-described operation in a two-sided area adjacent to the corner area. Further, the inner surface ribs of the ink tank IT in this embodiment are arranged with a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped ink absorber. This configuration reduces the overall ink consumption of the absorber.
This is an important configuration because the remaining amount of ink can be almost eliminated while the atmospheric pressure distribution is made uniform. Further, the technical idea on the arrangement of the ribs will be described in detail. When an arc having a long side as a radius is drawn around the position where the ink supply port 1200 of the ink tank is projected on the upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped, It is important to arrange the ribs on the surface outside the arc so that the atmospheric pressure state is given to the absorber located outside the arc at an early stage. In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example as long as the atmosphere can be introduced into the rib arrangement area.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rear surface of the ink jet cartridge IJC with respect to the head is flattened to minimize the required space when the ink jet cartridge IJC is incorporated into the apparatus, and to maximize the ink storage amount. Therefore, not only can the device be miniaturized, but also the cartridge has an excellent configuration that can reduce the frequency of cartridge replacement. And the inkjet unit I
Utilizing the rear part of the space for integrating the JU, a protruding portion for the air communication port 1401 is formed there, and the inside of this protruding portion is hollowed out, and the absorber 90 described above is formed here.
An atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire zero thickness is formed. With such a configuration, an excellent cartridge not seen in the past can be provided. Note that the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is a space much larger than the conventional one, and since the air communication port 1401 is located above, even if the ink separates from the absorber due to some abnormality,
The atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 can temporarily hold the ink and can reliably collect the ink in the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge without waste can be provided.

The unit IJU of the ink tank IT
The construction of the mounting surface is shown in FIG. Orihu
Through the center of the protrusion of the chair plate 400,
On the mounting reference surface on the bottom of the IT or on the surface of the carriage
L is a parallel straight line₁  Then, in the hole 312 of the support 300,
The two positioning protrusions 1012 to be engaged are formed by the straight line L₁ Up
It is in. The height of the protrusion 1012 is the thickness of the support 300.
Slightly lower, the support 300 is positioned. This
Line L on the drawing₁  Of the carriage on the extension of the
90 ° angle engaging surface 4002 of hook 4001
The claw 2100 is located at a position relative to the carriage.
The determined acting force is this straight line L₁  Parallel to the reference plane
It is configured to operate in the surface area. It will be described later with reference to FIG.
However, these relationships are related to the positioning of only the ink tank.
Since the accuracy is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the head discharge port
It is an effective configuration.

Further, the support 300 is placed on the side of the ink tank.
Ink tanks corresponding to fixing holes 1900 and 2000 respectively
The projections 1800 and 1801 are formed from the projection 1012 described above.
Is long, and the part protruding through the support 300 is heat-sealed
To fix the support 300 to its side surface.
You. Line L above₁  And a straight line passing through this projection 1800
To L_Three , A straight line passing through the projection 1801_TwoAnd when
Line L_Three Above is the center of the supply port 1200
Therefore, the connection between the supply port 1200 and the supply pipe 2200
Acts to stabilize the condition, and this can be
With a preferable configuration, the load on the connection state can be reduced.
is there. Also, a straight line L_Two , L_Three Do not match, head I
A protrusion 1800, 1 around the protrusion 1012 on the discharge port side of the JH.
801 exists, so the head of the head IJH
This has the effect of reinforcing the positioning of the tool. Note that L_Four
The curve shown by indicates the outside when the ink supply member 600 is mounted.
It is a wall position. The projections 1800 and 1801 have the curve L_Four
Along with the weight of the head-side configuration of the head IJH.
It also provides sufficient strength and positional accuracy. Incidentally, 27
00 is the tip of the ink tank IT, in front of the carriage
Inserted into the hole of the plate 4000, the displacement of the ink tank
It is provided at the time of an incident that becomes worse at the end. 2
Reference numeral 101 denotes a retainer for the carriage.
The cartridge IJ is provided for a bar (not shown) of the HC.
C below the bar at the position where it is pivotally mounted as described below.
Upwards that intrude into the
Protective part to maintain the mounted state even when force is applied in the direction
Material. The ink tank IT is equipped with a unit IJU.
By covering with lid 800 after being worn, unit IJU
Except for the lower opening, it has a shape surrounding it.
Carrying on Carriage HC as Cartage IJC
Because the lower opening to perform is close to the carriage HC,
A substantial four-sided surrounding space is formed. Therefore, this
Heat generated from the head IJH in the enclosed space is
Effective as a thermal insulation space for long-term continuous use
Causes a slight rise in temperature. For this reason, in this example,
Upper side of cartridge IJC to help natural heat dissipation
In addition, a slit 1700 having a width smaller than this space is provided.
The temperature distribution of the whole unit IJU while preventing temperature rise
Can be made independent of the environment.
Was.

When assembled as an ink cartridge IJC, the ink is supplied from the inside of the cartridge to the supply tank 1200 through the supply port 1200, the hole 320 provided in the support 300, and the introduction port provided on the middle and back sides of the supply tank 600. After passing through the inside, an appropriate supply pipe and an ink inlet 15 of the top plate 1300 are provided from the outlet.
00 and flows into the common liquid chamber. A packing made of, for example, silicon rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection portion for ink communication described above, whereby sealing is performed to secure an ink supply path.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of a resin such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene, which has excellent ink resistance, and is simultaneously formed together with the orifice plate 400 in a mold. It is molded. As described above, since the integrally molded parts are the ink supply member 600, the top plate 1300 and the orifice plate 400, and the ink tank body 1000, not only the assembling accuracy is at a high level, but also the quality of mass production is extremely effective. It is. Also, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ink supply member 600 has the upper surface 603 of the ink tank IT in the shape after assembly.
A slit S is formed as shown in FIG.
A slit (not shown) similar to the above-described slit S is formed between the slit S and the head-side end portion 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lid 800 below the ink tank IT is bonded. The slits between the ink tank IT and the ink supply member 600 substantially perform the function of further promoting the heat radiation of the slit 1700, and directly apply unnecessary pressure to the tank IT even if there is an unnecessary pressure applied to the tank IT. In other words, the influence on the ink jet unit IJT is prevented.

In any case, the configuration of the present embodiment is as follows.
This is a configuration that has not existed in the past, each of which has an effective effect independently, and also has an organic configuration due to the complex requirements of each component.

3) Ink jet for carriage HC
Description of mounting cartridge IJC In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5000 denotes a platen roller, which is a recording medium.
Guide P upward from the bottom of the page. Carriage HC
It moves along the platen roller 5000.
Ink cartridge on front platen side of ridge
Front plate 4000 (2mm thick) located on the front side of IJC
And the pad 20 of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC.
1 with a pad 2011 corresponding to
To each pad 2011 from the back side
Rubber pad sea to generate elastic force to press against
A support plate 4003 for an electrical connection portion that holds the
Fix the ink cartridge IJC to the recording position
And a positioning hook 4001 are provided.
You. Front plate 4000 carts positioning projection surface 4010
The positioning protrusions 250 of the ridge support 300 described above.
0,2600, each of which has two cartridges.
After the mounting, a vertical force is applied to the protruding surface 4010.
For this reason, a reinforcing rib is provided on the platen roller side of the front plate,
Multiple ribs (not shown) pointing in the direction of the normal force
Have. This rib is attached to the cartridge IJC
Slightly (approximately 0.1 mm) more than the front position L5
Also has a head protection projection that protrudes toward the ten roller.
Has formed. The support plate 4003 for the electric connection portion is
Multiple pieces 4004 in the vertical direction, not the direction of the ribs.
Then, from the platen side to the hook 4001 side,
The protrusion ratio has been reduced. This is a cartridge mounted
It also functions to tilt the time position as shown in the figure.
You. Further, the support plate 4003 stabilizes the electrical contact state.
Therefore, the two positioning protrusion surfaces 4010 are
Work on the cartridge in the direction opposite to the
The positioning surface 4006 on the hook side for applying utility
It has two corresponding to the exit surface 4010, and these two positions
A pad contact area is formed between
Of the rubber sheet 4007 with a zipper for 2011
Is uniquely defined. These positioning surfaces are
When the cartridge IJC is fixed at a recordable position,
The state comes into contact with the surface of the wiring board 200. In this example
Is the pad 201 of the wiring board 200
L₁  Are symmetrically distributed with respect to
The amount of deformation of each button of the
The contact pressure of the rod 2011 is further stabilized. Pat of this example
The distribution of the nodes 201 is upper, lower two rows and vertical two rows.

The hook 4001 has a long hole which engages with the fixed shaft 4009. After rotating in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG.
By moving to the left along 0, the ink cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC. The hook 4001 can be moved in any manner, but is preferably configured to be moved by a lever or the like. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves toward the platen roller while the positioning projection 2500,
2600 is moved to a position where it can be brought into contact with the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate.
Hook surface 4002 is cartridge IJC nail 2100
The cartridge IJC is turned in a horizontal plane around the contact area between the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 while being in close contact with the 90 ° surface of the pad 201, and finally the contact between the pads 201 and 2011 starts. When the hook 4001 is held at a predetermined position, that is, a fixed position, the pads 201 and 2011 are completely in contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are completely in contact with each other, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the nail are in contact with each other. The two-sided contact and the surface contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 4006 are simultaneously formed, and the cartridge I with respect to the carriage is formed.
JC holding is completed.

4) Schematic description of the apparatus main body FIG. 6 shows an ink jet recording apparatus IJ to which the present invention is applied.
In the schematic view of the RA, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013 has a pin (not shown). (Shown), and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper holding plate, which platens the paper 500 in the carriage moving direction.
Press against 0. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area by photocouplers and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member for supporting a cap member 5022 for capping the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes suction means for suctioning the inside of the cap and recovering the suction of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a member that enables the blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these members are supported by the main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form, and a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this embodiment. Also, 502
Reference numeral 1 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage,
The driving force from the drive motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching.

These capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that when the carriage comes to the home position side area, desired processing can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005. If the desired operation is performed at the timing described above, any of the embodiments can be applied. Each of the configurations described above is an excellent invention when viewed alone or in combination, and shows preferred configuration examples for the present invention.

In order to describe the present invention technically related to FIGS. 2 to 6 described above, the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a recorded image of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a recorded image in the normal recording mode of the present invention.
9 is a partial explanatory view of an ink jet recording head cartridge, FIG. 9 is a block control diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 10 is a block explanatory diagram of a print data pattern according to the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a mode according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a block diagram for explaining setting or multiple mode selection, FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a rotationally recorded image of the present invention, FIG. 13 is a diagram of a rotationally recorded image for explaining a problem of the present invention, and FIGS. 14 (a) and (b).
(C) is an explanatory view of a partial image after the end of the section inside according to the present invention, FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of print timing of print data according to the present invention, and FIG. 16 is print data of another print head of the present invention. 17 (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams of the print timing of the surface recording data of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of print timing of normal recording according to the present invention.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the inclination and the image of the recording head of the present invention with respect to the scanning direction, and FIG. 20 is a circuit explanatory diagram of the drive control means of the present invention.

The following embodiments can be conceptually summarized as follows: a head for performing recording on a recording medium by discharging ink, a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink to the head, In an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a common liquid chamber for supplying ink, a dot matrix for printing, from vertical and horizontal grids arranged at a predetermined interval, from the vertical direction, several dots every few dots Was moved in the horizontal direction by a certain ratio of the predetermined interval (by shifting the ejection timing).
An ink jet recording apparatus having an oblique lattice shape.

In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, FIG.
For example, a character or an image is represented by a dot matrix of a grid as shown in FIG. 7 which is a vertical and horizontal intersection formed at an interval of 1/360 inch. (A) is a representation of the lattice of the present invention. (B) shows the degree of overlapping of dots (solid black) when dots of about 100 μm are printed on the entire surface shown in (a).

FIG. 8 schematically shows a configuration of a disposable ink cartridge head in which an ink tank and a head portion are integrated. 1 is a nozzle portion of 64
There is a book. Reference numeral 2 denotes a common liquid chamber for temporarily storing ink to be supplied to each nozzle. Reference numeral 3 denotes a tube which is called a chip tank and connects the ink tank section and the common liquid chamber 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a sponge in the ink tank which holds the ink so as not to leak. Reference numeral 5 denotes a filter for preventing air bubbles from entering the chip tank.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the timing of heating the heater. The heaters of the 64 nozzles are not energized at the same time. In order to keep the maximum current low, the current is divided into eight and the current is divided into eight times. The 64 nozzles are divided into eight blocks a to h, and are performed in order of 7 μsec from a, with a non-energization time of 8 μsec. Printing speed is 64CPS discharge frequency 3072H _Z that is, 48 dots × 64C
So PS, heat interval of a time of continuous ejection dot is approximately 326μ seconds ie 1 / 3072H _Z. When performing continuous ejection, re-ink supply (hereinafter, referred to as refill) performed after ejection needs to be completed within the 326 μsec drive period.

In order to improve the printing speed of the ink jet recording apparatus, it is necessary to increase the ejection frequency.

However, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus, especially when considering the improvement of the ejection frequency in a disposable system in which the ink tank and the head shown in FIG. Although the problem of shortening the time required for subsequent refilling is a problem, according to this example, the dot matrix for printing is changed from vertical and horizontal grids arranged at a predetermined interval to every other dot in the vertical direction. By changing half of the predetermined interval to a diagonal lattice shape whose position is shifted in the horizontal direction, it is necessary to perform refilling during the ejection process, which has been a bottleneck to improve the ejection frequency of the head. It is possible to significantly reduce the time required.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a dot matrix for printing of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in (a), the basic is 1/360 inch
This is a grid with ch intervals. Considering the vertical direction, every other dot in the horizontal direction, 1/720 of 1/2 of the basic interval in the horizontal direction
It is a diagonal lattice shifted in inches.

(B) shows the degree of dot overlap (solid black) when dots having a diameter of about 100 μm are printed on the entire surface shown in (a). It can be seen that the voids are almost uniformly filled.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the timing of heating the heater of the ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is the same as in the prior art that the current is divided into eight and the current is divided into eight times in order to keep the maximum current low. But the nozzle a
Change the way of 8 blocks of ~ h as shown in the figure.
e, g, b, d, f, and h are collectively applied (the print head having the ejection section may be arranged in this way), and are heated alternately so that every other nozzle as shown in FIG. 1/7
A dot matrix shifted by 20 inches can be printed. The heating of this group is completed in 52 μsec by performing a, c, e, and g in order of 7 μsec, with an intermittent time of 8 μsec. Next, the non-energized time is interposed, and the groups b, d, f, and h are similarly heated. The printing speed at this time has been increased to, for example, about 83.3 cps. The ejection frequency is 4000Hz, that is, 48 dots
Since it is 3.3 cps, the heat interval of a certain dot during continuous ejection is 250 μs, that is, 1/4000 Hz. When performing continuous discharge, the refill performed after the discharge shown in FIG. 18 needs to be completed within this 250 μsec.

When considering continuous ejection, the timing of ejection with the adjacent nozzle is shifted by 125 μs. Therefore, as can be seen from the timing, when the heater of a certain nozzle is heated as shown in (a) and the bubble expands, the next nozzle is in a refilling process as shown in (b). As shown by the arrows, in (a), energy is given to the ink near the ejection port by expansion of the bubble, and pressure is also given to the common liquid chamber side. The pressure is transmitted through the common liquid chamber,
It works in a direction to assist the refilling of the nozzle (b) in the process of refilling. By this effect, the time required for refilling can be shortened . For example, even if continuous heating is performed with the heat interval of 326 μs shown in FIG. 18 set to 250 μs as shown in FIG. .

Other Embodiments 1) In this embodiment, a bubble jet type recording apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Including similar technical twists. 2) In the present embodiment, the disposable head has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and includes the same technical device in the permanent head. 3) In the present embodiment, the ejection timing is shifted every other dot. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same may be performed every two dots or every two dots. There is no problem at all. 4) In the present embodiment, the shift time of the ejection timing is limited to just half of the ejection interval up to now, but there is no problem if it is not exactly half. 5) FIG. 15 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a head having a conventional structure. This is an example to which the present invention can be applied even if the structure is not as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, instead of ejecting all the dots during 112 μsec, the blocks a to h are further divided into every other dot, and the groups of the even-numbered ejection units a2 to h2 and the odd-numbered ejection units a1 to A group of h1 is formed, and the heater is heated at 112 μsec from the point of time that is delayed by half of the heat interval of all dots, that is, 326 μsec / 2 = 163 μsec. Such a method also has an effect of assisting refilling, and can be a measure for preventing a so-called defective discharge phenomenon.

9 and 10, the data of D5 and D9 of FIG.
, The data for one row of nozzles of the head is once stored in the RAM 802.

Next, for example, A,
The data of A (1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0) is extracted, the stored data is sequentially taken out from block a by 8 bits, and "AND" is taken, and the result is sent to the interface unit 803 in order. The print data is transferred to the print head driver 1A and printed by the recording head 1.

Next, at a timing delayed by 163 μsec, R
From OM801, for example, 5,5 (0,1,0,1,0,
The data of (1, 0, 1) is extracted, and "and" is similarly printed.

The above control process is repeated to realize the printing.

In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, firstly, data in which A, A and AND are taken is printed so that the upper left data is in a living order, considering the recording direction from the left to the right, and The data that is ANDed with 5, 5 is printed late. However, the present invention is not limited to this. First, data in which AND is taken with 5, 5 is printed, and A, A, and AND are later printed in such a manner that the data in the upper left of the figure is delayed. It doesn't matter if you print the data you have taken.

In the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the shift printing method is described as being fixed. However, the present invention is not limited to this and includes the following.

One having a changeover switch so that a user can select normal printing or shift printing.

The recording device judges according to the contents of printing and selects a printing method. For example, printing defects 1
2. Shift printing is automatically performed only in 2,14 point printing, rotation printing, and ruled line printing.

One in which the user can select between two modes, shift printing using a character font modified for shift printing and normal printing using a normal font, or one that can be automatically selected.

As described above, the dot matrix for printing is changed from the vertical and horizontal grids arranged at a predetermined interval to the half of the predetermined interval at every other dot in the vertical direction. By changing the position of the head to a diagonal grid, it is easy to devise a control technique, and it is necessary for the "refill" in the ejection process, which has been a bottleneck to improve the ejection frequency of the head. Time can be greatly reduced. This is a very useful technique for improving the printing speed of the ink jet recording apparatus. The present invention is particularly effective when liquefied solid ink is used as compared with liquid ink. The following can be adopted as a configuration added to the present invention.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, to the electrothermal transducer disposed corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path in which is held, This is effective because thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include those described in U.S. Pat.
Suitable are those described in US Pat. No. 45,262. If the conditions described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface described above are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads disclosed in the above-mentioned specification is used. Either a configuration that satisfies the length or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exert the above-described effects.

In addition, the print head is exchangeable with a print head of a chip type which is electrically connected to the main body of the apparatus and can supply ink from the main body of the apparatus, or is integrated with the print head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided in a fixed manner is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be more specific, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal converter, another heating element, or a combination thereof, for the recording head. ,
Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to a recording mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be an integral recording head or a combination of a plurality of recording heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, the ink is a solidified ink at room temperature or lower, and is softened or liquid at room temperature. Generally, the temperature is controlled within the range of not less than 70 ° C. and the temperature is controlled so that the viscosity of the ink is in the stable ejection range. Therefore, when the use recording signal is applied, the ink is in a liquid state. I just want it. In addition, or by positively preventing the temperature rise due to thermal energy by using the energy of the state change from the solid state of the ink to the liquid state, or
In order to prevent evaporation of the ink, ink that solidifies in a standing state is used, and in any case, the ink is liquefied by application of a heat energy according to the recording signal, and the ink is discharged as a liquid ink or reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy, such as one which already starts to solidify at the time, is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-71260, or a form in which a liquid sheet or a solid substance is held in a concave portion or a through hole of a porous sheet so as to face an electrothermal converter. It is good. In the present invention,
The most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0070]

According to the present invention, as described above, the conventional problem is clarified, and a new solution is provided. Therefore, the conventional image quality problem can be solved and a desired image quality can be easily obtained. It is an invention that can be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a recorded image of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an example of an ink jet cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the ink tank of the ink jet cartridge viewed from a side where an ink jet recording head is mounted.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a state of being mounted on a carriage of the ink jet cartridge device main body.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a recorded image in a normal recording mode of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial explanatory view of an ink jet recording head cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a block control diagram of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory block diagram of a pattern of print data according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating mode setting or multiple mode selection according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a rotationally recorded image of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a rotationally recorded image for explaining a problem of the present invention.

14 (a), (b) and (c) are explanatory views of a partial image after the end of a section inside edge according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of print timing of print data according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of print timing of print data of another print head of the present invention.

17A and 17B are explanatory diagrams of print timing of print data of the surface recording of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of print timing of normal recording according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of an inclination and an image of the recording head of the present invention with respect to the scanning direction.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of the drive control means of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 recording head 4 Sponge scan 5 filter 30 switching timing of the latch circuit 40 decoder 50 segments circuit 60 heating elements (H1~H64) 70 selection circuit 90 recording data supply unit CG line recording data T ₀ 0 1

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of discharge ports for discharging ink supplied from a liquid chamber through a liquid path, and applying discharge energy for causing a state change including formation of bubbles to the ink in the liquid path. A driving method for a liquid jet recording head comprising: a discharge energy supply unit configured to discharge ink from the plurality of discharge ports. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A selecting step of sequentially selecting at predetermined time intervals, and, while selecting a plurality of blocks by the selecting step, selecting a non-consecutive outlet from among a plurality of outlets constituting each of the sequentially selected blocks. Between a first block selection driving step of ejecting ink by selecting the plurality of blocks by the selection step performed subsequent to the first block selection driving step. Among the plurality of ejection ports constituting each of the sequentially selected blocks are not selected in the first block selection driving step,
A second block selection driving step of discharging ink by selecting discharge ports that are not continuous with each other; and discharging the ink corresponding to each of the plurality of discharge ports. 2. A discharge port array having a large number of discharge ports for discharging ink, a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the plurality of discharge ports, and a state change including formation of bubbles in the ink. A liquid ejecting recording head having ejection energy supply means for applying the ejection energy to be generated to eject ink from the large number of ejection ports, wherein the liquid ejecting recording head performs relative scanning with respect to a recording medium. In a liquid jet recording apparatus for recording an image by performing recording in a row unit corresponding to the large number of ejection ports, the plurality of ejection ports, a plurality of the plurality of ejection ports which can be simultaneously driven, Block selecting means for sequentially selecting the blocks at predetermined time intervals; and discharging the ink among the plurality of discharge ports constituting the block selected by the selecting means. Ejection port selection means for selecting ejection ports to be performed, and a printing operation in a row unit corresponding to the large number of ejection ports, a plurality of blocks are sequentially selected by the block selection means, and each block is selected by the ejection port selection means. A first drive control for ejecting ink by selecting a non-consecutive ejection port from among the plurality of ejection ports, and sequentially selecting a plurality of blocks by the block selecting means following the first drive control; A drive control performed by a second drive control for discharging ink by selecting non-consecutive discharge ports that are not selected in the first drive control from among the plurality of discharge ports of each block by the discharge port selection unit; A liquid jet recording apparatus comprising: 3. The liquid ejecting recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of ejection ports are arranged along a direction inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to a scanning direction of the liquid ejecting recording head. apparatus. 4. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the block selecting unit sequentially selects a block from the plurality of blocks that reaches a recording position first. 5. A shift printing mode for performing a printing operation in a unit of a row corresponding to the plurality of discharge ports by the first drive control and the second drive control by the drive control means, and the block selecting means. A plurality of blocks are sequentially selected, and a plurality of ejection ports of each block are simultaneously driven, and a normal print mode in which a row-based recording operation corresponding to the plurality of ejection ports is performed can be changed. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4.