JP3263248B2 - Printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an improved structure or method for driving a print head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, word processors, facsimile machines, and the like in offices, various types of printing apparatuses have been developed as information output devices for these devices. Among them, the ink jet type printing apparatus has low print noise,
It is suitable for so-called personal use in offices because it has advantages such as high quality printing on various types of print media and easy downsizing. In such an ink jet printing apparatus, an ink tank for storing ink and an electric signal are converted into heat by an electrothermal conversion element, thereby causing film boiling of the ink, and reducing the pressure of bubbles generated by the boiling. A configuration using a print cartridge in which a print head that uses ink to fly ink and is replaceable is in use.

[0003] In this print cartridge, the ink supply path between the print head and the ink tank can be shortened, whereby the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the ink consumption during suction recovery can be reduced. Has the advantage of Further, if the ink tank is used to hold an amount of ink to be used until the print head reaches the end of its life, the user replaces the print cartridge, thereby performing ink supply and print head maintenance at the same time. There are advantages such as. Further, it is possible to exchange cartridges for color printing and monochrome printing depending on the user's application, and such a printing apparatus has been proposed.

In such an ink jet printing apparatus, a drive pulse (for example, a voltage pulse) applied to the electrothermal conversion element has a heat generation amount per unit area on the ink contact surface of the electrothermal conversion element and expansion and contraction stress due to heat. Is set mainly in consideration of the durability against.

Further, as one driving method for realizing high image quality in an ink jet printing apparatus, a configuration in which a driving pulse applied in accordance with the temperature of a print head is controlled is known. Generally, when the temperature of the print head, that is, the temperature of the ink to be ejected changes, the ejection amount fluctuates. Therefore, when the driving pulse is constant, the ejection is caused by the change in the head temperature due to heat storage accompanying printing. This is because the amount changes and density unevenness occurs in the printed image.

[0006]

By the way, the setting data of the driving pulse and the control data of the driving pulse corresponding to the temperature described above are stored in a ROM (Read Only) of the printing apparatus main body.
y Memory) and the like, these data are set in accordance with the characteristics of the print head and the print ink at the time when the printing apparatus is put on the market. For this reason, print heads and print inks, which are the core technologies of ink-jet printing apparatuses, are of higher quality due to technological innovation, and when these are used by being mounted on printing apparatuses that have been put on the market before, they are stored. The above setting data is not always suitable for a newly developed print cartridge or ink. For this reason, there is a case where a user who uses the printing apparatus main body put on the market before cannot use the newly developed print cartridge under the optimum driving condition, which may cause a problem.

A configuration is also known in which a print cartridge is provided with a memory such as a ROM, and drive conditions are stored for each cartridge. However, mounting a ROM on a consumable print cartridge increases the running cost, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing apparatus capable of setting driving conditions corresponding to an upgrade of a print head cartridge in a printing apparatus main body. It is to provide a method.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for performing printing by applying a driving pulse to a printing element of a print head. Drive pulse setting means for setting a drive pulse, memory means for presetting the drive parameters referred to by the drive pulse setting means, interface means for externally capturing at least a part of a print signal and the drive parameters, The above taken from the interface means
It has update memory means for setting driving parameters,
The dynamic pulse setting means is set in the update memory means.
Drive parameters are set in the memory means.
A printing apparatus is characterized in that it is referred to with priority over a drive parameter .

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the apparatus further comprises a head ID identifying means for identifying a type of the print head by identifying a head ID indicating the type of the print head, and If at least some of the parameters are taken in from outside, the head I
Only drive parameters D identification means corresponding to the type of head identified, in printing apparatus and sets the drive parameters to the update memory means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the interface means has a function of outputting a head ID indicating the type of the print head to the outside. is there.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the print head causes a state change in the ink by thermal energy, and discharges the ink based on the state change. The printing apparatus is characterized in that:

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for performing printing by applying a drive pulse to a print element of a print head based on a drive parameter, wherein a print signal is taken in from outside through an interface means. at least part of the driving parameter takes in from said interface means, said
Drive parameters taken from interface means
Is the drive parameter previously set in the memory means
Separately set in the update memory means, and
The drive parameters set in the memory means are set in the memory means.
A printing method is characterized in that reference is made prior to a set driving parameter .

[0018]

[0019]

[0020]

According to the above arrangement, a newly developed print head can be put on the market without being bound by the drive condition parameters of the print head cartridge set in the printing apparatus main body put on the market first. It is possible to provide a printing device that has a competitive product over a long period of time.

[0021]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 11 to 16 show preferred ink jet units IJU, to which the present invention is applied or applied.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for describing each of an inkjet head IJH, an ink tank IT, an inkjet cartridge IJC, an inkjet printing apparatus main body IJRA, and a carriage HC, and a relationship among them. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described with reference to these drawings.

(I) Schematic Description of Apparatus Main Body FIG. 11 is an example of a schematic view of an ink jet printing apparatus IJRA applied to the present invention. In the figure, the driving force transmission gear 5 is linked with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013.
Lead screw 5 rotating through 011,5009
Carriage H engaged with the spiral groove 5004 of FIG.
C has a pin (not shown) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. An ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC. Paper press plate 5002
Moves the paper P to the platen 50 in the carriage movement direction.
Press against 00. Photocoupler 5007,500
Reference numeral 8 denotes a home position detecting unit for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Support member 5016
Is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the print head. A suction unit 5015 that suctions the inside of the cap performs suction recovery of the print head through an opening 5023 in the cap. The cleaning blade 5017 is provided on the moving member 5019 and is movable in the front-rear direction. The moving member 5019 is supported by the main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade 5017 is not limited to this mode, and a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this embodiment.

The lever 5021 is used to start suction for recovery of suction. The lever 5021 moves with the movement of the cam 5020 which engages with the carriage HC, and the driving force from the driving motor is transmitted to a known transmission such as clutch switching. The movement is controlled by means.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are performed so that desired processing can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the home position side area. Any desired operation can be applied to this example.

The ink jet cartridge IJ in this embodiment
C, as can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 12, the ink storage ratio is large, and the ink jet unit IJU has a shape in which the tip end projects slightly from the front surface of the ink tank IT. This ink jet cartridge IJC is an ink jet printing apparatus main body IJR.
This is a type which is fixedly supported by a positioning means and an electric contact of a carriage HC (FIG. 11) mounted on the carriage A and which is detachable from the carriage HC.

(Ii) Description of Inkjet Unit IJU Inkjet unit IJU is a unit that performs printing using an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for causing ink to cause film boiling in response to an electric signal. It is.

In FIG. 12, the heater board 100 is
On a Si substrate, electrothermal transducers (discharge heaters) for generating the above-mentioned thermal energy and electric wirings of Al or the like for supplying electric power are formed by a film forming technique. It is. The wiring board 200 has wiring corresponding to the wiring of the heater board 100 (for example, connected by wire bonding), and a pad 201 located at an end of the wiring and receiving an electric signal from the main unit. The top plate 1300 includes a partition for forming an ink liquid path and a common liquid chamber corresponding to each of the plurality of ink ejection ports, and receives ink supplied from an ink tank and introduces the ink into the common liquid chamber. Receiving port 150 for
0 and an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of discharge ports. The partition and the like provided on the top plate 1300 are the top plate 1
Polysulfone is preferable as these integrally molded materials, but other molding resin materials may be used.

The support 300 supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 on a flat surface, and is formed of, for example, metal, and forms a structural member of the print head unit. Presser spring 50
0 has an M-shaped cross section, and the center of the M
The part corresponding to the common liquid chamber of No. 0 is pressed, and the part corresponding to the liquid path of the top plate 1300 is similarly pressed by the front drooping part 501 by line contact. The foot 502 of the presser spring 500 is engaged with the back side of the support 300 through the hole 3121 of the support 300, so that the heater board 100 and the top plate 13 are engaged.
Thus, the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 can be pressed and fixed to the support 300 by the urging force of the pressing spring 500 and the front sag 501. The support 300 is
Two positioning projections 1012 provided on the ink tank
And two positioning holes 31 respectively engaging with the two positioning and heat fusion holding projections 1800
2 and 1900, and projections 2500 and 2 for positioning the head cartridge with respect to the carriage on the apparatus body side.
600 on the back side. In addition, the support 300 also has a hole 320 that can penetrate an ink supply pipe 2200 (described later) that allows ink to be supplied from the ink tank. Attachment of the wiring board 200 to the support 300
It is performed by sticking with an adhesive or the like.

The recesses 2400, 24 of the support 300
00 are provided in the vicinity of the positioning projections 2500 and 2600, respectively. These concave portions are formed on three sides around the print head unit IJU in the head cartridge in the assembled head cartridge (FIG. 13). Multiple parallel grooves 3000,300
Unnecessary objects such as dust and ink are at the extension point 25 at the extension point.
It is provided so as not to reach 00,2600. The lid portion 800 in which the parallel groove 3000 is formed is shown in FIG.
As can be seen from FIG. 4, the outer wall of the head cartridge is formed, and a portion for accommodating the print head unit IJU is formed. The ink supply path member 600 in which the parallel groove 3001 is formed is the same as the ink supply pipe 2 described above.
An ink conduit 1600 for connecting the ink to the ink supply pipe 200 by connecting the ink supply pipe 200 to the supply pipe 2200 is provided in the form of a cantilever. And a sealing pin 602 for ensuring the above. Note that reference numeral 600 denotes packing for sealing the ink tank to the supply pipe 2200, and reference numeral 700 denotes a filter provided at the tank-side end of the supply pipe 2200.

Since the ink supply path member 600 is molded, it is not only inexpensive and formed with high positional accuracy, but also in a mass production by the cantilevered conduit 1600, the top plate 1300 of the conduit 1600 is used. Can be stably pressed against the ink receiving port 1500. In this example, the sealing adhesive is poured from the ink supply path member side under this pressure contact state.

The support 3 of the ink supply path member 600
00 is fixed to the holes 1901, 19
02, the back side pin (not shown) of the ink supply path member 600 is projected through the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support body 300, and the portion protruding to the back side of the support body 300 is easily heat-sealed. Done. Note that the slightly protruded area of the heat-fused back surface is accommodated in a recess (not shown) in the side wall of the print head unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank, so that the positioning surface of the unit IJU can be obtained accurately.

(Iii) Description of the configuration of the ink tank IT After the ink tank is inserted from the side opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface of the cartridge main body 1000, the ink absorber 900, and the unit IJU of the cartridge main body 1000, , Lid 1100 for sealing this
And is composed of The absorber 900 is arranged in the cartridge main body 1000. The supply port 1200 is a supply port for supplying ink to the unit IJU including the above-described units 100 to 600, and the ink is injected from the supply port 1200 in a step before the unit is arranged in the portion 1010 of the cartridge body 1000. This is also an inlet for impregnating the absorber 900 with ink.
In the head cartridge of this example, the portion where the ink can be injected into the ink tank is the air communication port 1401 and the supply port 1.
200. However, the in-tank air presence regions formed by the ribs 2300 provided on the inner side surface of the main body 1000 and the ribs 2301 and 2302 provided on the inner side surface of the lid 1100 are provided in portions continuous from the air communication port 1401 side. In addition, by adopting a configuration provided over the corner portion farthest from the ink supply port 1200, good ink supply from the ink absorber is maintained. Therefore, it is important that relatively good and uniform ink injection into the absorber is performed through the supply port 1200. This method is extremely effective in practice. Rib 23
No. 00 has four ribs (only two upper surfaces are shown in FIG. 13) parallel to the carriage moving direction at the rear of the cartridge main body 1000 to prevent the absorber from sticking to the main body 1000 surface. ing. Also, the partial rib 230
The reference numerals 1302 and 1302 are provided on the inner surface of the lid 1100 on the extension in the direction in which the rib 2300 extends, but are separated from the rib 2300. As a result, the space where air is present is increased more than the former. Note that the ribs 2301 and 2302 are distributed over a surface that is less than half the total area of the lid 1100. With these ribs, the ink in the corner region farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber 900 can be more stably guided to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force. 1
Reference numeral 401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the ink tank with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 1400 denotes a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the air communication port 1401, thereby preventing ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

The ink storage space of the ink tank has a rectangular shape and its long side is provided on the side surface. Therefore, the above-described arrangement of the ribs is particularly effective. However, the ink storage space has a long side in the moving direction of the carriage. Case or cube, the lid 11
By providing ribs over the entirety of 00, the supply of ink from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized.

FIG. 14 shows the structure of the surface of the ink tank IT on which the unit IJU is mounted. Assuming that a straight line that passes through substantially the center of the row of protruding openings of the orifice plate 400 and is parallel to the mounting reference surface of the bottom surface of the tank IT or the surface of the carriage is L1,
One positioning projection 1012 is on this straight line L1. The height of the protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and the protrusion engages with the hole 312 to position the support 300. On this drawing, on the extension of the straight line L1, a claw 2100 that engages with the vertical engaging surface 4002 of the positioning hook 4001 of the carriage is located, and the acting force for positioning on the carriage is reduced by the straight line L1.
1 is configured to operate in a plane region parallel to the reference plane, including the reference plane 1. As will be described later with reference to FIG.
Since the positioning accuracy of the ink tank with respect to the carriage is equal to the positioning accuracy of the print head ejection port with respect to the carriage, the configuration is effective.

The protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank corresponding to the fixing holes 1900 and 2000 on the side of the ink tank of the support 300 are the protrusions 101 described above.
Longer than two. Thereby, the support 300 can be penetrated and protruded, and the support 300 can be fixed to the side surface of the ink tank by heat-sealing the protruding portion. Assuming that a straight line passing through the projection 1800 is L3 and a straight line passing through the projection 1801 is perpendicular to the above-described line L1, and the straight line passing through the projection 1801 is L2, the center of the supply port 1200 of the ink tank is located substantially on the straight line L3. And supply pipe 220
This is a preferable configuration because it acts to stabilize the state of connection with zero, and can reduce the load on these states of connection even when dropped or impacted. Further, the straight lines L2 and L3 do not coincide with each other, and the projection 180 around the projection 1012 on the ejection port side of the print head among the two projections 1012 and 1012.
The presence of 0,1801 further enhances the effect of positioning the print head with respect to the ink tank. Note that the curve L4 corresponds to the ink supply path member 60 described above.
0 is its outer wall position when it is mounted. Protrusion 180
Since 0,1801 is along the curve L4, sufficient strength and positional accuracy are given to the weight of the print head on the front end side. 2700 is the ink tank I
The tip of the T is inserted into a hole of the front plate 4000 of the carriage, and is provided for an abnormal time when the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely bad. Reference numeral 2101 denotes an engagement portion between the carriage HC and a further positioning portion.

Ink tank and unit IJ
After the U is mounted, the unit IJU is surrounded by the lid 800 covering the unit IJU except for the lower opening. However, the head cartridge is mounted on the carriage on the apparatus main body side. Due to the proximity to the carriage, a substantially four-sided surrounding space is formed.
Therefore, the heat generated from the print head IJH in the surrounding space is effective in uniformly dividing the space into the space and keeping the space at a uniform temperature. However,
When the head IJH is driven continuously for a long time, a slight temperature rise may occur. For this reason, in this example, the slit 170 having a width smaller than this space is formed on the upper surface of the cartridge in order to prevent natural heat radiation from the support 300.
0 is provided so as to prevent the temperature from rising and to make the temperature distribution uniform throughout the unit IJU unaffected by the environment.

As shown in FIG. 13, when assembled as a head cartridge IJC, the ink passes through the supply port 1200 of the ink tank through the hole 320 provided in the support 300 and the introduction port provided on the inside and back side of the supply tank 600. Ink supply path member 6 via supply pipe 2200 arranged
After being guided to a conduit 1600 in 00 and passing through it,
The ink flows into the common liquid chamber via the ink introduction port 1500 of the top plate 1300. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection between the supply pipe and the conduit described above, whereby sealing is performed and an ink supply path is secured.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300
Is made of a resin such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene, which is excellent in ink resistance, and is integrally molded together with the orifice plate 400 by a mold.

As described above, since the integrally molded parts are the ink supply path member 600, the top plate and the orifice plate, and the ink tank body 1000, not only the assembling accuracy becomes high, but also the quality of mass production is extremely improved. It is valid. Further, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

(Iv) Attachment of the Inkjet Cartridge IJC to the Carriage HC In FIG. 15, reference numeral 5000 denotes a platen roller, which moves the print medium P upward from the bottom of the drawing with the rotation of the print medium P by the action of frictional force. The carriage HC is provided to move along the platen roller 5000, and a front plate 4000 (2 mm thick) located on the front platen side of the carriage and located on the front side of the head cartridge IJC.
And a cartridge IJ on the carriage.
Pad 2 corresponding to pad 201 of C wiring board 200
011 and a support plate 4003 for an electrical connection portion holding a rubber pad 4006 having an elastic force for pressing the flexible sheet 4005 against each pad 2011 from the back side, and fixing the head cartridge IJC to the print position. Hook 400 for positioning
1 is provided. The front plate 4000 has two positioning projections 4010 corresponding to the positioning projections 2500 and 2600 of the cartridge support 300, respectively, and receives a vertical force directed toward the projection 4010 after the cartridge is mounted. For this reason, the reinforcing ribs are
The 000 platen roller has a plurality of ribs (not shown) directed in the direction of the vertical force. The rib also constitutes a head protection projection that projects slightly (about 0.1 mm) from the front position (indicated by L5 in the figure) toward the platen roller 5000 when the cartridge IJC is mounted. The electric connection portion support plate 4003 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 extending in the direction perpendicular to the drawing, and the thickness in the direction parallel to the platen roller 5000 is reduced from the platen roller side to the hook 4001 side. I have. This also fulfills the function of inclining the position when the cartridge is mounted as shown in the figure. The support plate 40
Reference numeral 03 denotes a positioning surface 4008 on the platen roller side and a positioning surface 40 on the hook side in order to stabilize the electrical contact state.
07, a pad contact area is formed therebetween, and the amount of deformation of the rubber sheet 4006 with a potch corresponding to each of the pads 2011 is uniquely defined. These positioning surfaces come into contact with the surface of the wiring board 200 when the cartridge IJC is fixed at a printable position. In this example, since the pads 201 of the wiring board 200 are further distributed so as to be symmetrical with respect to the line L1 described above, the amount of deformation of each potch of the rubber sheet 4006 is made uniform and the contact pressure between the pads 2011 and 201 is increased. Is more stable. The distribution of the pads 201 in this example is two rows above and two rows below and two rows vertically.

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 the ink jet cartridge IJC to the carriage HC by moving to the left side in parallel with 0, positioning is performed. The hook 4001 can be moved in any manner, but a configuration in which the hook 4001 can be moved by a lever or the like is preferable. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves to the position where the positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600 can contact the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate while moving to the platen roller side. By moving to the side, the vertical hook surface 4002 comes into close contact with the vertical surface of the claw 2100 of the cartridge IJC, and rotates the cartridge IJC in the horizontal plane around the contact area between the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010. Thereby, the pads 201 and 2011 finally come into contact with each other. When the hook 4001 is held at the 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 vertical surface 400
The two-surface contact between the vertical surface of the hook 2 and the claw and the surface contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surfaces 4007 and 4008 are simultaneously formed, and the holding of the cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage is completed.

(V) Description of the heater board FIG. 16 shows the heater board 1 of the head used in the present invention.
00 shows a schematic diagram of FIG. An ejection section array 8 provided with a temperature control (sub) heater 8d for controlling the head temperature and an ejection (main) heater 8c for ejecting ink.
g and the driving element 8h are formed on the same substrate in a positional relationship as shown in FIG. By arranging each element on the same substrate in this manner, the head temperature can be efficiently detected and controlled, and the head can be made more compact and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Also, FIG. 7 shows the positional relationship of the outer peripheral wall cross section 8f of the top plate, which is divided into a region where the heater board is filled with ink and a region where the heater board is not filled. The discharge heater 8d side of the outer peripheral wall section 8f of the top plate functions as a common liquid chamber. In addition, the discharge part row 8g of the outer peripheral wall cross section 8f of the top plate
A liquid path is formed by the groove formed above.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below using such an apparatus.

(Vi) Driving method of print head As a factor for determining the discharge amount of the ink jet print head, there is an ink temperature of the discharge part (the temperature of the print head can be used in some cases). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the temperature dependence of the ejection amount when the driving pulse condition is fixed. As shown by a curve a in the figure, the ejection amount Vd increases linearly with an increase in the print head temperature _TH (in this case, it is a static temperature characteristic and is equal to the ink temperature of the ejection section). If the slope of this straight line is defined as a temperature-dependent coefficient, the temperature-dependent coefficient _KT becomes

[0046]

K _T = ΔV _dT / ΔT _H [pl / ° C. · drop] The coefficient K _T is determined by the physical properties of the ink of the head, irrespective of the driving conditions. Also in FIG. 4, curves for other print heads are shown by curves b and c.

In this embodiment, the fluctuation of the discharge amount due to the fluctuation of the ink temperature described above is determined by using the PWM (pulse width modulation) of the discharge heater.
It is intended to control the discharge amount to be constant by driving. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a divided pulse according to the present embodiment. In the figure, V _op is the drive voltage applied to the discharge heater, P ₁ is the pulse width of the first pulse (hereinafter, referred to as pre-pulse) of the plurality of divided heat pulses, P ₂ is the interval time, and P ₃ is This is the pulse width of the second pulse (hereinafter referred to as the main pulse). T
₁ , T ₂ and T ₃ indicate time for determining P ₁ , P ₂ and P ₃ .

There are roughly two methods for controlling the PWM discharge amount. One is a pre-pulse width modulation driving method for modulating a T ₁ and the T _2, T ₃ at a constant driving method shown in FIG. 6, the other is a driving method shown in FIG. 7, T ₁ and ( This is an interval width modulation driving method for modulating (T ₂ −T ₁ ) while keeping (T ₃ −T ₂ ) constant.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a change in the discharge amount due to the former control. The discharge amount increases with an increase in T ₁ , decreases after exceeding one peak, and enters a region A 1 where foaming occurs by a pulse of P ₁ . In this driving method, it is possible to have the linearity in the change of the discharge amount relative to the modulation of T ₁ by optimizing the setting area of T _1, the control is facilitated.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the change in the discharge amount due to the latter control. The discharge amount increases with an increase in the interval time, and enters a region A2 where foaming does not occur at a certain point. In this driving method, the temperature rise of the print head becomes a serious problem. In the case of a control method in which the pulse width is narrowed down by a single pulse in a high temperature range and the input energy is reduced to suppress the temperature rise, (T ₂ −T ₁ ) is reduced in the direction of temperature increase, and (T ₂ -T ₁₎ = 0 because it can perform the control of by squeezing the T ₁ of the point of a pulse wave it is possible to maintain the continuity modulated.

In this embodiment, any of the driving methods can be applied by the method described later, and the same method can be applied to the driving method in which the two are mixed.

When the temperature of the ink is low, there is a limit in compensating the decrease in the discharge amount due to the low tone with the increase in the discharge amount by the PWM driving method. The heater is heated to raise the temperature of the ink to increase the discharge amount. Measure.

FIG. 10 shows the above relationship as an actual control diagram.
Shown in If in the drawing below T ₀ heats the print head by the sub-heater (region A _3). Thus, PWM control is the discharge amount control according to the ink temperature will be carried out at T ₀ or higher. Temperature range indicated as the PWM area A ₄ in FIG. 10 is a temperature range that can stabilize the discharge amount ranges ink temperature of the discharge portion of the twenty-four to fifty-four ° C. in this embodiment. The region exceeding the temperature T _L is a non-control region A _5. FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the ink temperature of the discharge unit and the discharge amount when the pre-pulse is changed in 11 steps. Even if the ink temperature of the discharge unit changes, the temperature step width ΔT varies depending on the ink temperature. By changing the pulse width of the pre-pulse, the discharge amount can be controlled within a width of ΔV with respect to the target discharge amount V _d0 .

A print head drive table based on actual 15-step interval time control will be described below.

[0055]

[Table 1]

As described above, the parameters of the print head include the drive pulses applied to the print elements such as P ₁ , P ₂ , and P _{3 with} respect to the ink temperature of the print head, and the drive conditions applied to the sub-heater. .

In addition, there is ink ejection other than during printing as drive of the print head. These are mainly performed for the stable ejection of the print head.Preliminary ejection is performed after wiping the face of the print head with the above-mentioned cleaning blade, and the nozzles and heaters of the print head are adapted to the ink. Flushing discharge performed for the purpose. It is known that the above-described ejection conditions greatly affect the characteristics of the print head and the print ink. Therefore, it is important as a drive parameter of the print head.

(Embodiment 1) Although the drive parameters of the print head are set by the above-described means, the print head and print ink, which are consumables, are greatly improved and the optimum drive parameters are changed when the drive parameters are changed. Although the driving conditions are not satisfied, the life of the print head and the print image are significantly reduced. However, in this embodiment, the consumables can be improved, that is, the driving parameters can be changed by controlling as follows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus of this embodiment stores an interface 11 for inputting a print signal and drive parameters from an external device 10, a microprocessor unit (MPU) 12, and a control program executed by the MPU 12. A program ROM 13, a dynamic random access memory (RAM) 14 for storing various data (such as the print signal, parameters used for driving the print head, and print data supplied to the head), a gate array 15, and a head driver 16 is provided. The gate array 15 controls supply of print data to the print head cartridge 17 and the like.
Also, data transfer between the RAM 12 and the RAM 14 is controlled.
The head driver 16 is for driving the print head 17. Further, main components of the control unit include a motor driver (not shown) that drives a carrier motor for transporting the print head and a transport motor for transporting the print paper. The print head 17 is provided with a head ID 18 that allows the print apparatus main body to recognize the version of the print head.

FIG. 2 is an excerpt of a memory map for explaining a memory configuration in this embodiment. As is apparent from FIG. 2, the drive parameter storage area 13 in the ROM area 13 is provided.
In a, a print head at the time of product shipment and head drive parameters adjusted for print ink are stored. When the power of the printing apparatus is turned on, the control unit stores the head driving parameters in the ROM 13 in the RAM.
14 to the drive parameter work area 14a. Thereafter, the control unit performs control so that the print head 17 is driven by referring to the head drive parameters stored in the head drive parameter / work area 14a in the RAM 14.

On the other hand, the printing apparatus of this embodiment
A command is provided which allows the head drive parameters in the AM 14 to be downloaded and input from an external device via the interface 11.

That is, if data is transferred in accordance with the rules standardized by the command, the means for freely rewriting the data in the head drive parameter work area 14a in the RAM 14 is released. Using the head drive parameter change command using the above specifications, the head drive parameter work area 14
By supplying a medium for updating the content of a to the optimum value, it is possible to improve the print head 17 and the print ink, which are the consumables.

Further, a means (for example, a head ID 18) for recognizing the version of the print head cartridge 17 is provided in the main body of the printing apparatus, and data indicating the version of the print head which can correspond to the command for transferring the drive parameter is added. It is preferable that the apparatus main body be configured to rewrite the print head drive parameters corresponding to the print head version in the RAM 14.

Note that the medium is an interface 11
There is no special restriction as long as the data can be transferred to the printing device control unit via the printer. For example, a floppy disk corresponding to a disk device of a personal computer in which the data is stored in a file format may be used, or a printer driver. It may be supplied as part of an element.

As described above, the means for driving the print element based on the drive condition parameters for the print head cartridge 17 and the print head cartridge 1
7. An inkjet printing apparatus which has an interface means for taking in the driving condition parameters from the outside from the outside, thereby enabling a product strategy to markedly improve the competitiveness of the product by upgrading consumables which is the greatest feature of the inkjet printing apparatus. Control system can be realized.

Further, it is clear that any printing method other than the thermal ink jet method can be applied to a printing apparatus which performs printing by using a drive pulse for a printing element, and a description thereof will be omitted.

(Second Embodiment) Next, another embodiment in which the drive parameters of the print head are updated by an external device will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of this embodiment. In the previous embodiment, communication was performed in only one direction from the external device 10 to the printing apparatus main body. The present embodiment is a system in which bidirectional communication is possible between the external apparatus 10 and the printing apparatus main body.

This system has a head ID 1 indicating the version of the print head cartridge 17 as in the previous embodiment.
8 is read by the main body of the printing apparatus, the version data is sent to the external apparatus 10 via the interface 11 of the main body of the printing apparatus, and drive parameters suitable for the version are sent to the interface 11 of the main body of the printing apparatus by the external apparatus 10, The same operation as in the previous embodiment is performed in the main body.

Further, the printing apparatus main body checks the version of the print head cartridge 17 with the version of the drive parameters stored in the RAM 14, and requests the external device 10 to update the drive parameters when the drive parameters are changed. The print parameter may be sent to the main body of the printing apparatus by transmitting a signal indicating the print head cartridge 17 and the version of the print head cartridge 17.

According to this system, unlike the previous embodiment, it is not necessary to add data indicating the applicable print head version in the drive parameter update command, and all drive parameters of all versions are not transmitted to the printing apparatus. Only the required version of the drive parameters needs to be sent, and the data transfer time can be reduced.

(Other Embodiment) Next, another embodiment in which the drive parameters of the print head are updated by an external device will be described with reference to FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, since all or some of the drive parameters that need to be changed when the print head is upgraded are developed in the work area 14a of the RAM 14, a part of the capacity of the RAM 14 is always used. Will be occupied.

Therefore, in this embodiment, referring to the head ID 18 of the print head cartridge 17, only when a new drive parameter is required, the drive parameter work area 14b for upgrading in the RAM 14 is updated.
Is used to drive the print head 17. If the drive parameters do not need to be updated, they are released as print data buffers.

Further, only the newly required driving parameters are commanded by the external device 10 and the RAM 14 of the printing device is used.
In this configuration, a work area for a required capacity is provided and written, and the written drive parameters are used in preference to the drive parameters in the drive head drive parameter work area 13b of the ROM 13.

According to this system configuration, drive parameters that can be updated unnecessarily are not provided in the RAM, but all drive parameters can be changed with a minimum necessary memory occupation.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

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 is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. 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. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface 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-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44,558 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. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal transducer for a plurality of electrothermal transducers, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electric connection with the apparatus main body and the ink from the apparatus main body are attached by being mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start solidifying when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to those used as image output terminals of information processing equipment such as computers, copying apparatuses combined with readers and the like, and facsimile apparatuses having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0087]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to externally set the drive parameters of the print head in the printing apparatus main body, and it is newly developed without being restricted by the driving parameters when the printing apparatus main body is put on the market. Printheads and print inks to the market,
It is possible to provide a drive control system for an inkjet print head that enables a product strategy to significantly improve product competitiveness by upgrading consumables, which is the greatest feature of the inkjet print device.

[0088]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a first example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a memory configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a second example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the temperature dependence of the discharge amount.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram related to PWM control.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram relating to pre-pulse control.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram related to interval time control.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a pre-pulse dependency of a discharge amount.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an interval time dependency of a discharge amount.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing discharge amount control.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a preferred inkjet printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a replaceable cartridge.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a replaceable cartridge.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an engagement portion of the ink tank with a print head.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a contact between a replaceable cartridge and a carrier.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a discharge (main) heater and a sub-heater of a head used in this embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a memory configuration according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Interface 12 Microprocessor unit (MPU) 13 Program ROM 14 Random access memory (RAM) 15 Gate array 16 Head driver 17 Print head

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Daigoro Kanematsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshi Inui 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Nao Yaegashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Atsushi Arai 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Isao Ebisawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Kuwahara 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kiichiro Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-3-121872 (JP, A) JP-A-4 86838 (JP, A) (58 ) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ^7, DB name) B41J 2/01 B41J 2/175 B41J 25/304

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for performing printing by applying a drive pulse to a print element of a print head, wherein: a drive pulse setting means for setting the drive pulse by referring to drive parameters; said memory means to set the drive parameters in advance, an interface means for capturing at least a portion of a print signal and the drive parameters from outside, the driving path taken from said interface means for
An update memory means for setting parameters , wherein the drive pulse setting means is set in the update memory means.
Drive parameters set in the memory means
A printing apparatus characterized by referring to a driving parameter prior to a driving parameter . 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a head ID identifying unit that identifies a type of the print head by identifying a head ID indicating the type of the print head,
When at least a part of the drive parameter is taken in from outside , the drive parameter is set in the update memory means only for the drive parameter corresponding to the type of the head identified by the head ID identification means. Printing device. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said interface means, printing apparatus characterized by having a function of outputting the head ID indicating the type of the print head to the outside. 4. The claim 1-3, wherein the printhead, ink is rise to state changes by thermal energy, printing, characterized in that those ejecting ink on the basis of the state change apparatus. 5. A printing method for performing printing by applying a drive pulse to a print element of a print head based on a drive parameter, wherein a print signal is taken in from outside via an interface means, and at least a part of the drive parameter is taken. uptake from the interface means, the in-
The drive parameters captured from the interface means are
Different from the drive parameters set in the memory means
In the update memory means, and
Set the drive parameters set in
A printing method characterized in that reference is made prior to a certain drive parameter .