JP4574126B2 - Inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention also relates to a mode for recording with the dye ink, a mode for recording by pigment ink, the ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet recording system capable of executing a mode for recording by both of the ink.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, printing with dye ink, pigment ink, and the like has been performed in color printing in printing apparatuses, particularly inkjet printing apparatuses. Dye inks are commercialized from early on for reasons such as the colorant dissolved in the liquid that is the main component of ink in inkjet recording devices, so that the nozzles of the recording device are less likely to clog, and the color on recording media is excellent. Has been. However, there is a drawback of fading in a relatively short time due to light, ozone and the like. In recent years, the image quality has been comparable to so-called silver salt photography due to the remarkable progress of ink jet recording technology. On the other hand, with the advance of pigment dispersion technology, application of pigment ink to inkjet technology has begun and problems such as clogging are being solved. The pigment ink has a great resistance to light, ozone, etc., and the period until it fades is much longer than that of the dye. Therefore, the image fastness is excellent. However, when it comes to color development, it has the drawback of being brighter than dyes. However, due to recent advances in microdroplet formation technology, it has become possible to form image quality that can be considered substantially the same as photographs. Whether the dye image or the pigment image is good can be said to have advanced to the point of preference. From the standpoint of storability, pigment ink is overwhelmingly superior, but it is an undeniable fact that dye ink is superior when it comes to image beauty. There is a debate about whether it is not a photograph if it is not beautiful, or a photograph if it cannot be preserved. It is considered that this selection should be left to the user's choice, rather than the purpose of the image. However, most of the printing devices so far have used inks using dyes. However, in recent years, printing apparatuses that can be equipped with pigment inks have also been released. However, these printing apparatuses are dedicated printing apparatuses, and in order to realize both of them with one apparatus, the ink cartridge or the head must be replaced. In recent years, printing devices that simultaneously print with pigment ink and dye ink have been commercialized. However, all of these products are intended to print characters in black, and color printing of so-called image information that is not characters uses dyes. Furthermore, various ideas have been made to clearly contrast these black characters and images. There are many such as JP-A-11-1647. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-63029 and the like have also been devised for the purpose of printing dye ink and pigment ink. However, in this head, the color arrangement order of the nozzles is the same for both inks, and no consideration is given to reciprocal printing.
[0003]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, which has been devised dye ink and the pigment ink as a user can use to select further time printing by using ink of both if this does not matter either This is a shortening.
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a color order along one direction of three dye ejection port arrays corresponding to three color dye inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan. The three dye discharge port arrays and the three dye discharge port arrays are arranged so that the color order along one direction of the three pigment discharge port arrays corresponding to the color pigment inks is symmetric with respect to an axis orthogonal to the one direction. In an embodiment in which recording is performed by scanning an ink jet recording head in which three pigment ejection port arrays are arranged in the one direction and the other direction, the dye ink and the pigment ink are ejected when scanning in the other direction. And a first recording mode for performing recording by ejecting the dye ink without ejecting the pigment ink at the time of scanning in the one direction, and the dye at the time of scanning in the one direction. The second recording mode for recording by discharging the pigment ink when scanning in the other direction without discharging the ink and the dye ink, and discharging the dye ink when scanning in the one direction And one recording mode selected based on a user instruction from a plurality of modes including a third recording mode for performing recording by discharging the pigment ink during scanning in the other direction. It is characterized by performing .
Thus, since in the first recording mode for ejecting dye ink only when scanning in the direction of the hand, in addition to being able to print image with good color development of only the dye ink, a second recording mode the reverse direction (other Since the pigment ink is ejected only when scanning in the direction (1) , it is possible to print a fast image with only the pigment ink. In addition, the overlapping order of the ink colors can be unified between the dye ink image and the pigment ink image. Furthermore, robustness, third by executing recording mode, pigments during scanning in the other direction while ejecting dye ink when scanning in the one direction for bidirectional printing unless much sought goodness of color By ejecting ink , high-speed printing is performed, and thereby, it is possible to obtain an image that has better color development than an image using only pigment ink and more robust than an image using only dye ink.
[0005]
Note that silicon is preferable as the substrate having the energy generating element group, and when the through hole for supplying the liquid is formed by anisotropic etching, the plane orientation may be <100> or <110>. More desirable. Further, since the orifice plate is formed of a photosensitive epoxy resin, the above-described high-density discharge port array group can be formed with high accuracy and ease.
[0006]
In the present specification, the “recording medium” means not only paper used in a general printing apparatus but also a wide variety of materials such as cloth, plastic film, metal plate, etc. that can accept ink. .
[0007]
The “ink” means a liquid that can be used for forming an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like or processing the print medium by being applied on the print medium.
Furthermore, the “pixel region” means a minimum region that expresses a primary color or a secondary color by applying one or a plurality of inks, and includes not only pixels but also superpixels and subpixels. Further, the number of scans required to complete the pixel region is not limited to one, and may be multiple. Further, the “process color” means a color that is formed by mixing three or more inks including a secondary color on a print medium.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0009]
(First embodiment)
1A and 1B are explanatory views schematically showing the main part of a recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a schematic view seen from above, and FIG. 1B is a view for explaining the arrangement of ejection openings. (C) is sectional drawing. As shown in FIG. 1C, the recording head 300 of this embodiment includes a substrate 7 including a heating element 5 as an energy conversion element, and an orifice plate 6 that forms the discharge port 1.
[0010]
In this embodiment, the substrate 7 is formed of a silicon single crystal having a plane orientation <100>, and on the sparse upper surface (connection surface with the orifice plate 6), as shown in FIG. A driving circuit 3 including a driving transistor for driving the heating resistor element, a contact pad 9 for connecting to a wiring board described later, a wiring 8 for connecting the driving circuit 3 and the contact pad 9 and the like use a semiconductor process. Is formed.
The substrate is provided with six through-holes formed by anisotropic etching in a region excluding the drive circuit 3, the heating resistor element 5, the wiring 8, and the contact pad 9. Ink supply ports 2 and 2a for supplying liquid to 21 to 23 and 31 to 33 are formed. FIG. 1A schematically shows a state in which the substantially transparent orifice plate 6 is placed on the substrate 7, and the ink supply port described above is omitted.
[0011]
The orifice plate 6 provided on the substrate is formed of a photosensitive epoxy resin in this embodiment, and corresponds to the heating resistor element 5 described above, for example, by a process described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-264957. Thus, the discharge port 1 and the liquid flow path 10 are formed. Here, after forming the silicon oxide film or the silicon nitride film on the silicon substrate as described in JP-A-9-11479, the above anisotropic etching is performed, and then the through-hole, the discharge port, and the liquid flow path are formed. And removing the silicon oxide film or the silicon nitride film at the ink supply port is desirable because an inexpensive and precise ink jet head can be produced. In any case, all the ejection port arrays are arranged on the same substrate together with the respective ejection port groups, and since they are formed by the process described so far, the alignment accuracy can be extremely high.
[0012]
The recording head 300 having the substrate 7 and the orifice plate 6 uses the pressure of bubbles generated by film boiling due to thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer 5 to discharge a liquid such as ink from the ejection port 1. Recording is performed by discharging. As shown in FIG. 2A, the recording head 300 is fixed to the ink flow path forming member 12 that communicates with the ink supply port described above, and the contact pad is connected to the wiring board 13 to be provided on the wiring board. When the electrical connection unit 11 is connected to an electrical connection unit of a recording apparatus described later, a drive signal or the like can be received from the recording apparatus. FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing an example of a recording head cartridge 100 provided with the recording head 300 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. A tank holder 150 for holding an ink tank 200 (200Y, 200M, 200C, 200PY, 200PM, 200PC) for supplying ink to the forming member is provided. Here, Y, M, and C mean yellow ink, magenta ink, and cyan ink, respectively, where the colorant is a dye, and PY, PM, and PC mean yellow ink, magenta ink, and cyan ink, where the colorant is a pigment, respectively. To do.
[0013]
Here, in the recording head of this embodiment, a plurality of discharge ports 1 are provided, and these are arranged at a predetermined pitch to form discharge port arrays 21 to 23 and 31 to 33 that are substantially parallel to each other. ing. Here, in FIG. 1A, the i-th discharge port of each of the discharge port arrays 21 to 23 coincides with the arrow direction shown in FIG. As described above, the ejection port arrays 21 to 23 of the present embodiment correspond to the ejection ports corresponding to the scanning direction when the recording head is mounted on a later-described recording device or the like and is scanned. The first discharge port array group 20 is formed. The ejection port arrays 31 to 33 are also arranged in the same manner as the ejection port arrays 21 to 23, and the second ejection port array group 30 is adjacent to the first ejection port group 20 by the ejection port arrays 31 to 33. Is formed.
[0014]
In the present embodiment, for the six discharge port arrays of these two discharge port array groups, cyan (C, PC) is used for the outermost discharge port arrays 23, 33, and magenta (M, PM) is used for the discharge port arrays 22, 32. ) Is discharged from the innermost adjacent discharge port arrays 21 and 31 to discharge yellow (Y, PY). Therefore, yellow ink is in the ink supply ports 2a and 10a, magenta ink is in the two ink supply ports adjacent to the ink supply ports 2a and 10a, and cyan ink is in the two outermost ink supply ports. Are supplied from the ink tanks 200Y, 200M, 200C, 200PY, 200PM, and 200PC, respectively.
[0015]
In this embodiment, the size of one heating resistor 5 is 30 μm × 30 μm, the width of the ejection port, the drive circuit and the wiring (see a in FIG. 1A) is 1.2 mm, and the upper surface of the substrate of the ink supply port 2 The width (see b in FIG. 1C) is 0.2 mm, and the substrate size can be 1.2 × 6 + 0.2 × 6 = 8.4 mm. Reducing the size of the substrate also has the advantage that the capacity of the memory for holding the transfer data of the recording head can be reduced in proportion to the substrate size.
[0016]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as is apparent from FIGS. 1A and 1B, the first discharge port array group 20 and the second discharge port array group 30 are respectively the discharge port groups. Are arranged so as to be shifted in the arrangement direction of the ejection ports so that the ejection ports of the ejection port arrays 21 to 23 and 31 to 33 complement each other in the scanning direction described above. As shown in FIG. 1B, in the present embodiment, the discharge port arrays forming the first discharge port array group and the second discharge port array group are all 128 discharge ports, t1 = t2 = It is formed by forming rows at a pitch of about 40 μm (1/600 inch). The arrangement of the ejection port array 21 and the ejection port array 31 is exactly the pitch of the ejection port array with respect to the sub-scanning direction of the recording head (in the present embodiment, the same as the arrangement direction of the ejection port array). (T3 = 1 / 2t1 = about 20 μm).
[0017]
An image forming method using such a nozzle array head will be described below. In the following example, for example, the discharge amount of each nozzle is assumed to be 8 pl. One pixel is 600 pixels per inch in the scanning direction and 1/1200 inch in the main scanning direction again in the sub-scanning direction. When printing a single color (C, M, or Y), one pixel is used. On the other hand, one droplet is ejected. At this time, reciprocal printing is not performed, and the ink overlap is always in the order of Y, M, and C. Such overlapping of colors is the same as in normal printing. In this way, image formation with dye inks C, M, and Y becomes possible. Further, when the main scanning direction is reversed in this configuration and ink is ejected only from the second group of ejection port arrays, image formation is performed with ink of only PC, PM, and PY. The printing in this case is different from the printing in C, M, and Y only in the main scanning direction being reversed. Further, when bidirectional printing is performed with this configuration, an image can be formed because the dye ink and the pigment ink are mixed by ejecting the dye ink on the forward path and the pigment ink on the return path. In this case, it is not necessary to feed the paper when printing the forward path and the backward path. This is because the nozzle array of the first group and the nozzle array of the second group are offset by 1/1200 inch and the discharge port alignment in each nozzle array is 1/600 inch, so that they complement each other and increase in one reciprocation. A resolution image can be formed at high speed. In addition, the color developability of the dye and the fastness of the pigment to light and ozone are improved. Any of these modes can be selected by a user on software existing in a host computer that controls a printing device called a printer driver. For example, a button such as “beautiful”, “long-lasting”, “fast” can be selected by clicking with a mouse. It is also possible to decide which of the three modes to use by default. Furthermore, the color correction method according to the color difference in each mode at this time can be adjusted so that the best color development can be realized by providing a color table for each case in the software. Of course, the same can be achieved by installing all the software in the printing device and only transferring image data and information on which mode to print in the three modes from the host computer. Also, as in recent years, the image information recorded in a flash memory or the like by a digital camera is read directly by the printing device, which of many images is selected and which of the three modes is selected, for example, “clean”, “long-lasting”, The same thing can be realized by pressing a button such as “fast”.
[0018]
(Second Embodiment)
3 and 4 are views showing a recording head according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a recording head cartridge equipped with the recording head. In the present embodiment, portions having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. 3A and 3B are explanatory views schematically showing the main part of the recording head, where FIG. 3A is a schematic view seen from above, FIG. 3B is an explanatory view for explaining the arrangement of ejection openings, and FIG. 3C is a sectional view. It is. 4A is a perspective view showing the recording head shown in FIG. 3 fixed to the ink flow path forming member 12, and FIG. 4B shows the recording head cartridge 100 provided with the recording head 300 of the present invention. FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing an example, and FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram for explaining an ink tank that is detachably mounted on the recording head cartridge.
[0019]
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that a silicon substrate having a <110> plane orientation is used. In this embodiment, when the ink supply ports 2 and 2a are formed by etching, the etching proceeds perpendicularly to the substrate, so that the cross-sectional shape changes in the thickness direction as shown in FIG. It is possible to easily obtain an ink supply port with less. Therefore, the substrate size of this embodiment is determined by the pattern on the substrate surface, and the recording head can be further miniaturized. In addition, when forming the ink supply port having the shape shown in FIG. 3C, it can be easily formed by performing etching with the above-described configuration, but it may be formed by other methods such as sandblasting or laser processing. . As described above, when the ink supply port having the shape shown in FIG. 3C is formed by another method, it is not necessary to use a silicon substrate whose surface orientation is <110> as the material of the substrate.
[0020]
In this embodiment, the ink flow path forming member 12 has an ejection port for ejecting black ink (Bk) in addition to the recording head 300 capable of ejecting each of the Y, M, and C inks. The recording head 400 including the rows 40 and 41 is fixed, and these are combined to form a recording head cartridge capable of ejecting four colors of ink. Since black is not generally used to form secondary colors, it need not be symmetrically arranged. Further, in order to improve the recording speed in monochrome recording, the number of nozzles is larger than that of other color heads. In this embodiment, the discharge port arrays 40 and 41 for Bk are arranged so that the respective discharge ports complement each other in the scanning direction, similarly to the discharge port arrays 21 and 31. Thus, recording can be performed in the sub-scanning direction at a density twice the nozzle arrangement density. In this embodiment, printing can be performed in the recording mode as shown in the first embodiment.
[0021]
(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recording head according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, parts having the same functions as those in the first and second embodiments described above are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. 5A and 5B are explanatory views schematically showing the main part of the recording head. FIG. 5A is a schematic view seen from above, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view. In this embodiment, the discharge port arrays 24 and 34 for discharging Bk are provided in the first and second discharge port array groups, respectively. In each of the embodiments described above, the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks that are most commonly used in the ink jet recording field have been described as examples of the type of liquid to be superimposed. However, these light color inks may be included. The types of liquids that can be superimposed, such as green, blue, and red, may be other color combinations.
[0022]
(Other)
Finally, a liquid discharge recording apparatus capable of mounting the recording head or the recording head cartridge described in the above embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus in which the liquid discharge recording head of the present invention can be mounted.
[0023]
In FIG. 6, the head cartridge 100 is mounted on the carriage 102 in a replaceable manner. The head cartridge 100 includes a recording head unit 50 and an ink tank 200, and is provided with a connector for transmitting and receiving signals for driving the head unit (not shown).
[0024]
The head cartridge 100 is mounted on the carriage 102 so as to be replaceable. The carriage 102 is provided with an electrical connection portion for transmitting a drive signal or the like to each head cartridge 100 via the connector. .
[0025]
The carriage 102 is guided and supported so as to reciprocate along a guide shaft 103 that extends in the main scanning direction and is installed in the apparatus main body. The carriage 102 is driven by a main scanning motor 104 through driving mechanisms such as a motor pulley 105, a driven pulley 106, and a timing belt 107, and its position and movement are controlled. A home position sensor 130 is provided on the carriage. This makes it possible to know the position of the shielding plate 136 when the home position sensor 130 on the carriage 102 passes.
[0026]
A recording medium 108 such as a printing paper or a plastic thin plate is separately fed one by one from an auto sheet feeder (hereinafter ASF) 132 by rotating a pickup roller 131 via a gear from a paper feeding motor 135. Further, the conveyance roller 109 is rotated (sub-scanned) through a position (printing unit) facing the ejection port surface of the head cartridge 100 by the rotation of the conveyance roller 109. The conveyance roller 109 is performed via a gear by the rotation of the LF motor 134. At this time, the determination of whether or not the paper has been fed and the determination of the cueing position at the time of paper feeding are performed when the recording medium 108 passes through the paper end sensor 133. Further, the paper end sensor 133 is also used to finally determine the current recording position from the actual rear end where the rear end of the recording medium 108 is located.
[0027]
The recording medium 8 is supported by a platen (not shown) on the back surface so that a flat print surface is formed in the printing unit. In this case, the head cartridge 100 mounted on the carriage 102 is held so that the discharge port surfaces thereof protrude downward from the carriage 102 and are parallel to the recording medium 108 between the two pairs of transport rollers. Yes.
[0028]
The head cartridge 100 is mounted on the carriage such that the direction of the ejection port array is different from the carriage scanning direction described above, and recording is performed by ejecting liquid from these ejection port arrays. In each of the above-described embodiments, an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy is provided in order to eject ink using thermal energy. Of course, other methods such as ejecting ink using piezoelectric elements are used. There may be.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the overlapping order of CMY inks can be the same in dye ink images with excellent color development, pigment ink images with excellent fastness , and mixed images of dye ink and pigment ink. . Further, since the mixed image is formed in the bidirectional recording mode, an image having the advantages of dye ink and pigment ink can be recorded at high speed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main part of a recording head according to a first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a recording head cartridge on which the recording head according to the first embodiment of the invention is mounted.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main part of a recording head according to a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a recording head cartridge on which a recording head according to a second embodiment of the invention is mounted.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main part of a recording head according to a third embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus on which the liquid discharge recording head of the present invention can be mounted.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ejection port 2 Ink supply port 3 Drive circuit 4 Contact pad 5 Energy conversion element (heating resistance element)
6 Orifice plate 7 Substrate 8 Wiring 9 Contact pad 10 Liquid flow path 11 Electrical connection part 12 Ink flow path forming member 13 Wiring board 20 First discharge port array group 21, 22, 23, 24 Discharge port array 30 Second Discharge port array group 31, 32, 33, 34 Discharge port array 40, 41 Discharge port array 50 Recording head unit 100 Recording head cartridge 150 Tank holder 200 Ink tank 230 Pixel (pixel)
231 and 232 dot positions

Claims (2)

An inkjet recording apparatus capable of recording an image on a recording medium while scanning an inkjet recording head in one direction and the other direction,
The ink jet recording head includes a color order along the one direction of three dye ejection port arrays corresponding to three color dye inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and three color pigment inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan. The three dye discharge port arrays and the three dye discharge port arrays are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to an axis orthogonal to the one direction. A pigment outlet array is arranged,
A first recording is performed by ejecting the dye ink without ejecting the dye ink and the pigment ink at the time of scanning in the other direction and without ejecting the pigment ink at the time of scanning in the one direction. A recording mode, and a second recording mode for performing recording by ejecting the pigment ink without ejecting the dye ink and the dye ink at the time of scanning in the one direction and at the time of scanning in the other direction; A third recording mode for performing recording by ejecting the dye ink when scanning in the one direction and ejecting the pigment ink when scanning in the other direction. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: means for executing one selected recording mode . A recording system comprising: an ink jet recording apparatus capable of recording an image on a recording medium while reciprocally scanning the ink jet recording head in one direction and the other direction; and a control device for controlling the ink jet recording apparatus. Because
The ink jet recording head includes a color order along the one direction of three dye ejection port arrays corresponding to three color dye inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and three color pigment inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan. The three dye discharge port arrays and the three dye discharge port arrays are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to an axis orthogonal to the one direction. A pigment outlet array is arranged,
A first recording is performed by ejecting the dye ink without ejecting the dye ink and the pigment ink at the time of scanning in the other direction and without ejecting the pigment ink at the time of scanning in the one direction. A recording mode, and a second recording mode for performing recording by ejecting the pigment ink without ejecting the dye ink and the dye ink at the time of scanning in the one direction and at the time of scanning in the other direction; A third recording mode for performing recording by ejecting the dye ink when scanning in the one direction and ejecting the pigment ink when scanning in the other direction. Selecting means for selecting one recording mode based on a user instruction;
Means for executing one recording mode selected by the selection means;
An ink jet recording system comprising:

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