JP3563952B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus equipped with an image recording head that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid by an energy generating element or performing thermal transfer.
[0002]
The present invention also provides a printer, a copier, a facsimile having a communication system, and a word processor having a printer unit, which performs recording on a recording medium such as paper, thread, fiber, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics and the like. The present invention can be applied to an industrial recording device combined with a device such as the above, and further combined with various processing devices.
[0003]
In the present invention, “recording” means not only giving a meaningful image such as a character or a figure to a recording medium, but also giving a meaningless image such as a pattern. Is also meant.
[0004]
[Prior art]
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for high image quality for recording apparatuses, and various studies have been made to improve image quality. In a recording apparatus that records an image by moving the recording head in one direction, the positional accuracy of the image to be recorded is determined by the positional accuracy of the recording head. Therefore, improving the positional accuracy of the recording head is an extremely important factor for improving the quality of an image. For this reason, in the conventional printing apparatus, a position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording head is attached to a carriage that moves in one direction with the recording head mounted thereon, thereby detecting the position of the head and detecting the position of the head. Based on the obtained head position data, a method of determining whether the recording position is appropriate or correcting the recording position to an appropriate recording position has been adopted.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional recording apparatus, since the head position detecting means is attached to the carriage, it is necessary to sufficiently obtain the positional accuracy of the recording head when mounting the recording head on the carriage. To this end, it is inevitable to improve the dimensional accuracy of components such as the carriage and the recording head, or to perform processing for correcting the position of the recording head.
[0006]
In addition, since elements and circuits for detecting the position of the head must be formed on the carriage or on the substrate of the apparatus main body, there is a problem that the cost is disadvantageous.
[0007]
An object of the present invention, the position of the recording head can be detected with high accuracy, also in the cost to provide a low liquid recording equipment.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording apparatus provided with a recording head that is mounted on a reciprocating carriage and forms an image using an energy generating element. A head position detecting element for detecting the position of the head, and a head position detecting element facing the head position detecting element and fixed to a recording apparatus main body along a path along which the recording head moves. And a detecting member , wherein the head position detecting element is formed in the same substrate as the substrate provided with the energy generating element .
[0011]
In this case, before SL in response to the position data of the recording head detected from the head position detecting elements and recording data, circuit and for generating a signal for driving the energy generating elements, in addition, it is formed It is preferable that the light receiving element for detecting an image is formed in the same substrate as the substrate provided with the energy generating element.
[0012]
Further, the head position detecting element may be a magnetic detecting element, a light receiving element, or an electric field detecting element. Further, the energy generating element may be an electrothermal conversion element that heats the liquid and causes the film to boil in order to discharge a droplet for forming an image, or the recording head discharges a droplet for forming an image. May be provided.
(Action)
According to the invention as described above, an image can be recorded with extremely high positional accuracy by forming at least an energy generating element that contributes to recording and an element for detecting the position of the recording head on the same substrate. Further, since elements having at least two functions can be simultaneously formed on the same substrate by a semiconductor process, it can be produced at extremely low cost.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a recording head provided with a recording head substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an arrangement diagram of elements in a print head substrate according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0015]
In the recording head of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a back surface of a recording head substrate (hereinafter, referred to as an “element substrate 1”) is joined to one surface of an ink tank 51 that holds ink as a recording liquid. On the surface of the element substrate 1, a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements 2 as energy generating elements are arranged in a straight line at a specific pitch. A liquid supply path 7 extending parallel to the direction in which the electrothermal conversion elements 2 are arranged is formed in a portion of the element substrate 1 near the electrothermal conversion elements 2. The liquid supply path 7 communicates with the inside of the ink tank 51.
[0016]
On the element substrate 1, a top plate 18 is joined via a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements 2 and a frame member 4 surrounding the periphery of the liquid supply path 7, and a space as a liquid chamber is provided. A discharge port 3 is formed in a portion of the top plate 18 facing each of the plurality of electrothermal conversion elements 2. The ink inside the ink tank 51 is supplied to the space surrounded by the element substrate 1, the frame member 4, and the top plate 18 through the liquid supply path 7. The ink is heated and foamed by the electrothermal conversion element 2 to generate pressure, and the pressure causes the ink to be ejected from the ejection port 3 toward a recording medium (not shown). In this embodiment, a so-called side shooter type in which ink is ejected in a direction perpendicular to the element substrate 1 is shown.
[0017]
An electrode pad 13 for electrically connecting to the flexible printed wiring board 14 is provided on one end surface of the element substrate 1, and the wiring of the flexible printed wiring board 14 and the electrode pad 13 are connected by a method such as wire bonding. It is connected. A contact pad 53 is provided on the flexible printed wiring board 14 as a contact for making an electrical connection between the recording apparatus and the head. Through this contact, transfer of image shape information including print data and print timing is performed. Done.
[0018]
As a characteristic configuration of the present invention, head position detecting elements 101 to 104 as magnetic sensors are formed on the element substrate 1 by using a semiconductor layer on the element substrate 1 on which the electrothermal transducer 2 is formed. Is embedded. These head position detection elements 101 to 104 are not covered by the top plate 18 and are arranged along a direction orthogonal to the ejection openings 3 in a row. Further, the head of this embodiment is capable of reciprocating in a direction (directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 1) which is parallel to the element substrate 1 and perpendicular to the row of discharge ports 3, and detects head position. The elements 101 to 104 are opposed to a linear magnetic body (magnetic body in which N poles and S poles are alternately arranged in a straight line) 100 fixed along the moving direction of the head in a non-contact manner. The head position detecting elements 101 to 104 and the linear magnetic body 100 constitute the head position detecting means of the present invention. With these configurations, the position of the head that moves in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 1 is detected by detecting the magnetism of the fixed linear magnetic body 100 with the head position detection elements 101 to 104. .
[0019]
Here, the element substrate 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
[0020]
The electrothermal conversion element 2 as an energy generating element is energized by turning on / off a drive transistor (drive element) 22. A plurality of head position detecting elements 101 to 104 as magnetic sensors are formed on the element substrate 1, and the semiconductor layer of the element substrate 1 can be used as a part of the head position detecting elements 101 to 104. . These elements 101 to 104 output according to the magnetic poles of the linear magnetic body 100 facing each other. The outputs are amplified by an amplifier circuit 24 and converted into digital signals by an A / D converter 25. It is input to the CPU 26 as an arithmetic circuit.
[0021]
Now, when image recording data is input to the element substrate 1 from outside the substrate, it is received and processed by the I / O circuit 31, and then input to the CPU. The arithmetic circuit processes the input image signal so that the energy generating element 2 is driven at an appropriate timing, and sends the image signal to the drive transistor 22 as a drive signal. The timing of this drive signal is corrected according to the head position detected by the head position detection elements 101 to 104, and is transmitted, so that an image can be recorded with extremely high accuracy. In particular, since the energy generating element 2 contributing to recording and the head position detecting elements 101 to 104 for detecting the head position are provided on the same substrate as in the present embodiment, the positional accuracy of the element is improved. In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the patterning accuracy in the semiconductor manufacturing process can be as small as a few microns. As a result, extremely high-precision recording can be performed, and the image quality has dramatically improved. In addition, by providing elements having two functions on the same substrate, these elements can be manufactured simultaneously in a semiconductor process, and wiring and the like are not required.
[0022]
Next, a method for detecting a highly accurate position of a movable head will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a high-precision position detection method using the plurality of head position detection elements 101 to 104 and the linear magnetic body 100 according to the present embodiment.
[0023]
In FIG. 3, the magnetic pole pattern of the linear magnetic body 100 is magnetized into an S pole and an N pole at a pitch D. On the other hand, since the head position detecting elements 101 to 104 are arranged at a pitch D / 4, the accuracy of detection in the head moving directions A and B is D / 4. That is, even if the linear magnetic material 100 is made of a material that is inexpensive and has a coarse pitch, extremely high accuracy can be obtained by the pitch and the number of the head position detecting elements 101 to 104. In addition, even if the number of head position detecting elements increases, connection, wiring, and the like can be performed on the same substrate, so that the configuration does not become complicated and large, and the cost does not substantially increase. When the number of elements is n, the detection accuracy is improved up to the pitch D / n. Therefore, the patterning accuracy in the semiconductor manufacturing process substantially depends on the patterning accuracy. Therefore, detection of 1 micron or less is also possible.
[0024]
(Second embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a recording head provided with a recording head substrate according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the following, only portions different from the first embodiment will be described.
[0025]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an optical sensor is used as a head position detecting element on the element substrate 1, and four light emitting elements 201 to 204 and light receiving elements 205 to 208 are paired with an energy generating element ( Electrothermal conversion element). Each pair of the light-emitting elements 201 to 204 and the light-receiving elements 205 to 208 is not covered by the top plate 18, and is arranged along a direction orthogonal to one row of the ejection openings 3. Further, the head of this embodiment is reciprocally movable in a direction (directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 6) which is parallel to the element substrate 1 and which is orthogonal to the row of ejection openings 3. To 204 and the light receiving elements 205 to 208 are in non-contact with a linear reflector (a belt-like plate in which reflective portions and non-reflective portions are alternately arranged in a straight line) 200 fixed along the moving direction of the head. They are facing each other. Thus, for example, light from the light emitting element 201 is reflected by the reflecting portion of the linear reflector 200 and enters the light receiving element 205.
The linear reflector 200 has a reflecting portion and a non-reflecting portion at a pitch D, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. On the other hand, each pair of four light emitting elements and light receiving elements is arranged at a pitch D / 4. Therefore, the accuracy with which four optical sensors including the light emitting elements 201 to 204 and the light receiving elements 205 to 208 can detect in the head moving directions A and B is D / 4. That is, extremely high accuracy can be obtained by the pitch and the number of the plurality of optical sensors including the light emitting element and the light receiving element.
[0026]
(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a recording head provided with a recording head substrate according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0027]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the head position detecting means of the present invention is applied to a so-called side shooter type in which ink is ejected in a direction perpendicular to the element substrate has been described. A case where the present invention is applied to a so-called edge shooter type that discharges ink in various directions will be described.
[0028]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a top plate 168 is joined to an element substrate 1 having a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements 2 to provide a space as a liquid chamber. A plurality of discharge ports 163 are formed on one end surface of the top plate 18 corresponding to each electrothermal conversion element 2 in a direction parallel to the element substrate 1 and orthogonal to the row of the electrothermal conversion elements 2. .
[0029]
Further, head position detection elements 151 to 154 as magnetic sensors are formed at one end of the element substrate 1 using a semiconductor layer on the element substrate 1 including the electrothermal conversion element 2. These head position detecting elements 151 to 154 are not covered by the top plate 168, and are arranged in a direction orthogonal to a row of the ejection ports 163. Further, the head of this embodiment can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the element substrate 1 and at right angles to the row of ejection openings 163 (arrows A and B in FIG. 5). The elements 151 to 154 are opposed to a linear magnetic body (magnetic body in which N poles and S poles are alternately arranged in a straight line) 150 fixed along the moving direction of the head in a non-contact manner. Except for the configuration described above, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.
[0030]
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a high-accuracy position detection method using the plurality of head position detection elements 151 to 154 and the linear magnetic body 150 according to the present embodiment.
[0031]
As shown in this figure, four magnetic pole patterns 150a to 150d corresponding to each of the head position detecting elements 151 to 154 are formed on the linear magnetic body 150. Each magnetic pole pattern is magnetized into a south pole and a north pole at a pitch D. The magnetic pole patterns 150a and 150b are magnetized by shifting the pitch by D / 4. Similarly, the magnetic pole patterns 150b and 150c, the magnetic pole patterns 150c and 150d, and the magnetic pole patterns 150d and 150a are also shifted by D / 4. Therefore, the accuracy with which the head position detecting elements 151 to 154 can detect in the head moving directions A and B is D / 4. That is, extremely high detection accuracy can be obtained by the number of head position detection elements and the pitch between the magnetic pole patterns corresponding to each head position detection element.
[0032]
(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a recording head provided with a recording head substrate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same parts as those in the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, only portions different from the third embodiment will be described below.
[0033]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, an electrostatic detection sensor is used as a head position detection element at one end of the element substrate 1, and the electrostatic detection elements 301 to 304 are energy generation elements (electrothermal conversion elements). Using a semiconductor layer on the element substrate 1 including These electrostatic sensing elements 301 to 304 are not covered by the top plate 168, and are arranged in a direction orthogonal to a row of discharge ports (not shown). Further, the head of this embodiment is capable of reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the element substrate 1 and perpendicular to a row of the ejection openings 163 (arrows A and B in FIG. 7). The elements 151 to 154 face a linearly charged body (a charged body in which positive charges and negative charges are alternately arranged in a straight line) 300 fixed along the moving direction of the head.
[0034]
As in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, four charging patterns corresponding to each of the electrostatic detection elements 301 to 304 are applied to the linear charging body 150. Each charging pattern is charged at a pitch D into a positive charge and a negative charge. The pattern is charged with a pitch D / 4 shifted from the adjacent charged pattern. Therefore, the accuracy with which the electrostatic detection elements 301 to 304 can detect in the head moving directions A and B is D / 4. That is, extremely high detection accuracy can be obtained by the number of the electrostatic detection elements and the pitch between the charging patterns corresponding to the respective electrostatic detection elements.
[0035]
In the above-described first to fourth embodiments, a head position detecting element that detects a head position during movement using magnetism, light, an electric field, or the like is formed on the same substrate as the energy generating element. However, a light receiving element such as a CCD that optically reads various information such as the position, size, density, etc. of the recording dots constituting the formed image may be built together with the energy generating element and the head position detecting element. It is possible.
[0036]
(Other embodiments)
FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the recording head according to each of the above embodiments can be mounted and applied. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 601 denotes an ink jet head cartridge according to each of the above embodiments, in which the ink jet recording head and the ink tank are integrated. The head cartridge 601 is mounted on a carriage 607 that engages with a spiral groove 606 of a lead screw 605 that rotates via driving force transmission gears 603 and 604 in conjunction with forward and reverse rotation of a driving motor 602. The carriage 607 is reciprocated along the guide 608 with the power of the drive motor 602 in the directions of arrows a and b. A paper pressing plate 610 for the print paper P conveyed on the platen roller 609 by a recording medium supply device (not shown) presses the print paper P against the platen roller 609 in the carriage movement direction. The paper pressing plate 610 is provided with a linear magnetic body, a linear reflector, a linear charger, or the like, which is a part of the head position detecting means, according to the recording head of each of the above-described embodiments.
[0037]
Photocouplers 611 and 612 are provided near one end of the lead screw 605. These are home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 607a of the carriage 607 in this area and switching the rotation direction of the drive motor 602 and the like. In the figure, reference numeral 613 denotes a support member that supports a cap member 614 that covers the front surface of the above-described inkjet recording head 601 having the ejection openings. Reference numeral 615 denotes an ink suction unit that sucks ink accumulated by the head 601, such as idle discharge, inside the cap member 614. The suction unit 615 performs suction recovery of the head 601 via the opening in the cap. Reference numeral 617 denotes a cleaning blade, and reference numeral 618 denotes a moving member capable of moving the blade 617 in a front-rear direction (a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 607). The blade 617 and the moving member 618 are main body supports. 619. The blade 617 is not limited to this mode, and may be another known cleaning blade. Reference numeral 620 denotes a lever for starting suction in the suction recovery operation, which moves in accordance with the movement of the cam 621 engaging with the carriage 607, and the driving force from the drive motor 602 is a known transmission means such as clutch switching. The movement is controlled by. An ink jet recording control unit for giving a signal to the heating element 202 provided in the head 601 and controlling the driving of each mechanism described above is provided on the apparatus main body side, and is not shown here.
[0038]
The inkjet recording apparatus 600 having the above-described configuration performs recording on the recording material P conveyed on the platen 609 by a recording material supply device (not shown) while the head 601 reciprocates over the entire width of the paper P.
[0039]
Next, the configuration of the entire system of the present apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 9, in this apparatus, an image recording dot forming energy generating element 702 and its driving driver 703 are connected on a same substrate 701 by a plurality of wirings 704. Similarly, the head position detecting element 705 and its driving driver 706 as in the above embodiments, the light receiving element 707 for obtaining recorded image information and its driving driver 708, and the logic circuits 709, 710, and 711 are also provided. Connected to CPU 712. A bus 713 is used for this connection, and a RAM 714, a ROM 715, and an EEPROM 716 are connected to the bus 713. Image information from the computer 717 is input to the CPU 712 via the data cable 718 and the I / O interface 719, the image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 714, and the position information of each element is stored in the EEPROM 716. .
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by forming at least the energy generating element and the element for detecting the position of the recording head on the same substrate, (1) an image can be recorded with extremely high positional accuracy. (2) Since elements having at least two functions can be simultaneously formed on the same substrate by a semiconductor process, there is an effect that production can be performed at extremely low cost. In addition, by the same method, the positional accuracy between the heads having a plurality of heads can be detected with good accuracy, and the head-to-head correction can be performed with high accuracy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a recording head including a recording head substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of elements in a print head substrate according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a high-accuracy position detection method using a plurality of head position detection elements and a linear magnetic body according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a recording head provided with a recording head substrate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a recording head including a recording head substrate according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a high-precision position detection method using a plurality of head position detection elements and a linear magnetic body according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a recording head including a recording head substrate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the recording head according to the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention can be attached and applied.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an entire system of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 element substrate 2 electrothermal conversion element 3, 163 discharge port 4 frame member 7 liquid supply path 13 electrode pad 14 flexible printed wiring board 18, 168 top plate 22 drive transistor 24 amplifier circuit 25 A / D converter 26 CPU
31 I / O circuit 51 Ink tank 53 Contact pad 100, 150 Linear magnetic body 101, 102, 103, 104, 151, 152, 153, 154 Position detecting element 150a, 150b, 150c, 150d Magnetic pole pattern 200 Linear light reflection Body 201, 202, 203, 204 Light emitting element 205, 206, 207, 208 Light receiving element 300 Linearly charged body 301, 302, 303, 304 Static detection element

Claims (8)

In a printing apparatus having a print head mounted on a reciprocating carriage and forming an image using an energy generating element,
A head position detecting element provided on the recording head for detecting a position of the recording head,
Facing the head position detecting element, and fixed to a recording apparatus main body along a path along which the recording head moves, a member to be detected of the head position detecting element ,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position detecting element is formed in the same substrate as a substrate having the energy generating element . A circuit for generating a signal for driving the energy generating element according to the recording data and the recording data of the recording head detected by the head position detecting element is provided on the same substrate as the substrate having the energy generating element. The recording device according to claim 1 , wherein Light receiving element for detecting the formed image is recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 have been built further substrate and the same substrate provided with the said energy generating element. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position detecting element is a magnetic detecting element, and the detected member is a linear magnetic body. 5. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position detecting element is a light receiving element, and the detected member is a linear reflector. 5. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position detecting element is an electric field detecting element, and the detected member is a linearly charged body. 5. It said energy generating element for discharging liquid droplets to form an image, the liquid was heated and recording apparatus according to item 1 any one of claims 1 a electrothermal transducer element for film boiling 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head includes an ejection port for ejecting a droplet for forming an image.

Images