JPH06320729A - Ink jet recording head, and method and device for inspecting same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an inspection method by which to check an ink jet recording head requiring the measurement of a discharge starting voltage or a discharge starting pulse width in a print inspection step. CONSTITUTION:The drive voltage or drive pulse width of an ink jet recording head is determined based on data on the resistance value of each electricity/heat converter 32 and data on the film thickness of a protecting film 23 which constitutes the electricity/heat converter 32 obtained in the manufacturing step sequence of an ink jet recording head. In addition, the ink jet recording head is driven by the determined drive voltage or drive pulse width. Thus the printed image of the ink jet recording head is inspected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for ejecting an ink droplet from an ejection port by utilizing thermal energy, and an inspection method and an inspection device for the ink jet recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus is a recording apparatus which forms ejected liquid droplets of ink by various methods and attaches them to a recording material such as recording paper for recording. Among them, the ink jet recording apparatus that uses heat as energy for forming discharged droplets can easily realize high density multi-nozzle, and thus is excellent in that a high resolution and high quality image can be obtained at high speed. It has features.

In this type of ink jet recording apparatus, heat is generated by supplying a plurality of droplet forming means for ejecting ink droplets from an ejection port by applying thermal energy to the ink, that is, by supplying a current pulse. A plurality of droplet forming means having an electrothermal converter capable of heating the ink and a plurality of integrated circuits (driving ICs) for driving the electrothermal converter are arranged on the same substrate to form a recording head. There is something I did.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of an ink jet recording head of such a form, and particularly shows a so-called full multi type in which ejection ports are aligned over a range corresponding to the entire width of a recording material. Here, the heating resistor 211
Is a component that constitutes an electrothermal converter 202 (see FIG. 10) for generating air bubbles due to film boiling in the ink and ejecting the ink in response to energization. It is formed through the same manufacturing process as a semiconductor. 213A is a liquid path forming member for forming the discharge port 213 corresponding to the heat generating resistor 211 and the liquid path 214 communicating with this, and 215 is a top plate. Again 216
Is a common liquid chamber that communicates with each liquid passage 214 in common, and stores ink supplied from an ink supply source (not shown).

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of an ink jet recording head having the mechanical configuration as shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing its driving timing. In FIG. 10, the electrothermal converter 202 has a voltage VM.
Is connected to the power supply wiring. The electrothermal converter 202 is
The recording data SI, which is provided corresponding to the plurality of ink ejection ports 213 (see FIG. 9) and has the same number of bits as the electrothermal converter 202, has image data (not shown) as shown in FIG. The recording data is sequentially transferred from the generation circuit to the shift register 204 in the driving IC 203 in synchronization with the data transfer clock CLK, and the transferred recording data is read into the latch circuit 205 by the input of the latch signal LAT.
After that, a flip-flop (F / F) is input according to the input of the division drive signal EI and the division drive signal transfer clock ECK.
The driving IC 203 is sequentially activated by 206, and the electrothermal converter 202 in which the recording data signal of the driving IC 203 is ON is selectively energized only while the pulse width setting signal ENB is ON. Ink is ejected from the ejection port 213. In this case, it is general that the frequency of the image data transfer clock is several MHz and the energization time to one electrothermal converter is several μs.

Further, in this type of ink jet recording head, an electrothermal converter or a wiring board forming step for forming wiring on a substrate and a nozzle forming an ink flow path on the wiring board are usually formed by a manufacturing process similar to that of a semiconductor. The product is manufactured through an assembly process in which the drive elements are mounted on the board and other parts are assembled, and finally the print quality and various performances are improved in the print inspection process in which the print head is driven under the optimum drive conditions. Be confirmed.

However, the optimum driving conditions for the ink jet recording head vary depending on the shape, configuration, ink type, etc. of the electrothermal converter, but even for the same type of ink jet recording head, the film thickness during the manufacturing process. It may vary depending on fluctuations and film thickness distribution. Therefore, in the print inspecting step, first, the ejection start voltage or ejection start pulse width of the inkjet recording head is measured by observing the ejection state of each nozzle while changing the voltage or the pulse width, and measuring each inkjet recording head. The print inspection is performed under the optimum driving condition with a value obtained by adding a margin value obtained by a separate experiment to the discharge start voltage or the discharge start pulse width thus obtained.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the ejection start voltage or the ejection start pulse width of the recording head is measured by observing the ejection state while changing the voltage or the pulse width. Spend a fair amount of time. In particular, in the so-called full-multi type in which the ejection openings are arranged over a range corresponding to the entire width of the recording material, the number of bits is large, and the ejection start voltage or the ejection start pulse width of each bit also varies. This requires skill of the measurement operator and also consumes a considerable amount of time. This has been a major obstacle to cost reduction of the recording head.

The object of the present invention is to pay attention to such problems,
In order to solve the problem, it is possible to determine the optimum driving conditions of the inkjet recording head by a relatively simple means and to omit the measurement of the discharge start voltage or the discharge start pulse width in the print inspection process. To provide. Another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording head that can be used in the above inspection method and inspection apparatus.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for inspecting an ink jet recording head, comprising: a plurality of electrothermal converters that generate thermal energy for forming recording droplets; In an inspection method of an ink jet recording head including a drive element for controlling energization of a converter,
Based on the resistance value data of each electrothermal converter obtained during the manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head and the film thickness data of the protective film forming the electrothermal converter, the drive voltage or drive of the inkjet recording head A print inspection of the inkjet recording head is performed by determining a pulse width and driving the inkjet recording head with the determined drive voltage or drive pulse width.

The ink jet recording head inspection apparatus of the present invention comprises a plurality of electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets and a drive element for controlling energization of the electrothermal converters according to a drive signal. In an apparatus for inspecting an inkjet recording head, the resistance value data of each electrothermal converter obtained during a manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head and the film thickness data of a protective film forming the electrothermal converter are stored. Storage device, a drive condition determining device that determines a drive voltage or a drive pulse width of the inkjet recording head based on resistance value data and film thickness data thereof, and the inkjet recording head with the determined drive voltage or drive pulse width And a drive control device for inspecting the print.

The ink jet recording head of the present invention uses a plurality of first electrothermal conversions for generating heat energy for forming recording droplets in the ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets from the ejection port by utilizing thermal energy. A body, a drive element that controls energization of the first electrothermal converter according to a drive signal, and a second electrothermal converter for inspecting the same configuration and shape as the first electrothermal converter, It is characterized in that it is provided with a drive element for controlling energization of the second electrothermal converter according to the drive signal and a temperature sensor for measuring the surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter.

The temperature sensor is preferably formed of an Al thin film. .

The ink jet recording head of the present invention may be a full line type in which a plurality of ejection openings are provided over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium.

A second method for inspecting an ink jet recording head according to the present invention comprises a plurality of first electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets and a first electrothermal converter in response to a drive signal. A drive element for controlling energization of the body is provided, and a surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter for inspecting the same configuration and shape as the first electrothermal converter and a surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter are further provided. A method for inspecting an ink jet recording head, comprising: a temperature sensor for measuring, wherein a surface temperature of a second electrothermal converter when energized is measured, and a driving voltage of the ink jet recording head or a driving voltage of the ink jet recording head based on the measured data. The print inspection of the inkjet recording head is performed by determining the drive pulse width and performing the print drive of the inkjet recording head with the determined drive voltage or drive pulse width. To.

[0016]

According to the present invention, various data obtained during the manufacturing process are effectively used to determine the optimum driving conditions of the ink jet recording head, and the print inspection is performed based on the driving conditions. According to the present invention, it is possible to determine an optimum driving condition of an inkjet recording head by a relatively simple method, and it is possible to provide an inexpensive and high-quality inkjet recording head.

The present invention also provides a first method for forming recording droplets.
A second electrothermal converter having the same structure and shape as that of the electrothermal converter of (1) is provided, and by measuring the surface temperature thereof,
The surface temperature of the first electrothermal converter is estimated, the optimum driving condition of the inkjet recording head is determined, and the print inspection is performed based on the driving condition. According to the present invention, it is possible to determine an optimum driving condition of an inkjet recording head by a relatively simple method, and it is possible to provide an inexpensive and high-quality inkjet recording head.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a print inspection device for an ink jet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the print inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment is a wiring board forming process for detecting defects such as an ink jet recording head 11 and an electrothermal converter 32 (see FIG. 2) or wiring open or short circuit. A resistance data storage device 12a for storing resistance value data obtained by a resistance test performed later.
And a film thickness data storage device 12b for storing film thickness data of a protective film obtained by a film thickness inspection performed to detect a film thickness defect, another storage device 12c, and resistance value data and film thickness thereof. An arithmetic unit 13 for performing an arithmetic operation based on the data,
A drive condition determining device 14 that determines a drive voltage or a drive pulse width of the inkjet recording head 11 based on the calculation result, and a drive control device 15 that generates various control signals for driving the inkjet recording head 11.
And a head drive power supply 16 and the like. Further, the ink jet recording head 11 is provided with the electrothermal converter 32 shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the shape of the electrothermal converter 32,
(A) is a plan view, (b) is a XX plan view of (a). In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the electrothermal converter 32 is a heating resistor 22 formed on the substrate together with the wiring 21.
And protective films 23 and 24 formed on the heating resistor 22. This heating resistor 22 is energized,
The temperature of the surface of the protective film 24 is raised, and bubbles are generated in the ink in contact with the surface of the protective film 24 due to film boiling to eject the ink. Therefore, the ejection start voltage of the ink jet recording head depends on the shape of the heating resistor 22 and the protective film 2.
Although it depends on the thicknesses of Nos. 3 and 24, the type of ink, and the like, the same type of inkjet recording head may be caused by film thickness fluctuation, film thickness distribution, wiring width fluctuation, and the like that may occur during the manufacturing process.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the resistance value of the heating resistor of the ink jet recording head and the ejection start voltage, and FIG.
3 is a graph showing the relationship between the protective film thickness of the inkjet recording head and the discharge start voltage. As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the ejection start voltage can be obtained by a certain function with the resistance value of the heating resistor and the film thickness of the protective film as variables in at least the manufacturing variation range with respect to the design value. The discharge start voltage may fluctuate slightly in addition to the resistance value of the heating resistor and the film thickness of the protective film, but may also fluctuate due to other fluctuations that may occur during the manufacturing process. The resistance value and the thickness of the protective film are negligibly small, and can be obtained quite accurately based on the resistance value data of the heating resistor obtained during the manufacturing process and the film thickness data of the protective film.

The optimum drive voltage of the ink jet recording head is obtained by adding a margin value obtained by a separate experiment to this ejection start voltage in consideration of durability. When the ejection start voltage is V ₁ , the drive voltage V ₀ is calculated by V ₀ = kV ₁ + V ₂ . However, k and V ₂ are constants determined for each recording head.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the resistance value data of the heating resistor 22 and the film thickness data of the protective films 23 and 24 obtained during the manufacturing process are respectively stored in the resistance data storage device 12a and the film thickness data storage device 12b. And the data is calculated by the arithmetic unit 13, and the optimum drive voltage is determined based on the calculation result. Then, the ink jet recording head 1 is driven by the determined driving voltage to perform the print inspection.

In this embodiment, the case where the optimum driving condition of the ink jet recording head is designated by voltage is described.
Depending on the inkjet recording head, the drive pulse width may be specified with a constant voltage. Also in this case, similarly to the above, the ejection start pulse width can be obtained from the resistance value data and the film thickness data, and the optimum drive pulse width can be determined and the print inspection can be performed. When the ejection start pulse width is P ₁ , the drive pulse width P ₀ is calculated by P ₀ = kP ₁ + P ₂ . However, k and P ₂ are constants determined for each recording head. Further, in the present embodiment, the data used for the calculation are the resistance value data of the heating resistor and the film thickness data of the protective film, but it is also possible to use various data obtained in other film thickness data and other manufacturing processes together. Needless to say, it is possible to obtain a more accurate optimum driving condition.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an ink jet recording head according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a constitutional example of a second electrothermal converter and a temperature sensor of the ink jet recording head according to the second embodiment. Is.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ink jet recording head of the present embodiment is different from the first electrothermal converter 32 for ejecting ink (formation of recording liquid droplets) in the inspection of the same structure and shape. Has a second electrothermal converter 38 for
A temperature sensor 39 is arranged on the surface of the electrothermal converter 38. The second electrothermal converter 38 is energized for a certain period of time, and the temperature sensor 39 measures the temperature of the second electrothermal converter surface 38.

As described in the first embodiment, the discharge start voltage of the ink jet recording head differs depending on the shape of the heating resistor, the protective film thickness, the type of ink, and the like. It varies depending on film thickness fluctuations, film thickness distributions, wiring width fluctuations, etc. that may occur inside. However, it is known that in the same type of inkjet recording head, the temperature of the surface of the protective film curtain of the electrothermal converter at the start of ejection is almost constant. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a wiring (sensor 39) made of an Al thin film is formed on the surface of the second electrothermal converter 38 having the same configuration and shape as the first electrothermal converter 32, and the resistance thereof is formed. By measuring the change in value, the surface temperature of the first electrothermal converter 32 can be estimated, and the discharge start voltage can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the surface temperatures of the first electrothermal converter 32 and the second electrothermal converter 38 of the ink jet recording head during and after energization. The surface temperature of the first electrothermal converter 32 and the surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter 38 are determined by the presence or absence of ink and the temperature sensor 39.
Although there is a difference due to the responsiveness, the positional relationship, etc., the difference is almost constant in the same ink jet recording head, and the surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter 38 is measured,
The discharge start voltage can be obtained quite accurately.

The optimum driving voltage of the ink jet recording head is obtained by adding a margin value obtained by a separate experiment to the ejection start voltage in consideration of durability. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the second electrothermal converter 38
Energize for a certain period of time, measure the surface temperature at that time,
The data is calculated by a calculation device, the optimum drive voltage is determined based on the calculation result, and the print inspection is performed.

In this embodiment, the case where the optimum driving condition of the ink jet recording head is designated by voltage is described.
Depending on the inkjet recording head, the drive pulse width may be specified with a constant voltage. Also in this case, similarly to the above, the ejection start pulse width can be obtained from the resistance value data and the film thickness data, and the optimum drive pulse width can be determined and the print inspection can be performed. Further, in the present embodiment, the Al thin film is used as the temperature sensor, but it goes without saying that other temperature sensors can be used.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus (IJRA) in which the ink jet recording head used in each embodiment of the present invention is mounted as an ink jet head cartridge (IJC).

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 120 denotes an ink jet head cartridge (IJC) provided with a group of nozzles for ejecting ink so as to face the recording surface of the recording paper fed onto the platen 124. Reference numeral 116 is a carriage HC that holds the IJC 120, and is connected to a part of a drive belt 118 that transmits the driving force of the drive motor 117, and two guide shafts 119A and 11 arranged in parallel with each other.
By making it slidable with 9B, the reciprocating movement over the entire width of the recording paper of the IJC 120 becomes possible.

Reference numeral 126 is a head recovery device, which is IJC1.
It is arranged at one end of the movement path of 20, for example, a position facing the home position. The head recovery device 126 is operated by the driving force of the motor 122 via the transmission mechanism 123, and the IJC 120 is capped. IJC1 by the cap portion 126A of the head recovery device 126
Head recovery device 1 in connection with capping to 20
Ink is sucked by an appropriate suction means provided inside the nozzle 26 or ink is pressure-fed by an appropriate pressurizing means provided at the ink supply path to the IJC 120, and the ink is forcibly discharged from the ejection port to increase the viscosity in the nozzle. Ejection recovery processing such as ink removal is performed. Further, the IJC is protected by capping at the end of recording or the like.

Reference numeral 130 is a blade as a wiping member which is disposed on the side surface of the head recovery device 126 and is made of silicon rubber. The blade 130 is held by the blade holding member 130A in a cantilever form, and like the head recovery device 126, the motor 122 and the transmission mechanism 123.
It is possible to engage with the ejection surface of the IJC 120. As a result, the blade 130 is moved to the IJC 12 at an appropriate timing in the recording operation of the IJC 120 or after the ejection recovery process using the head recovery device 126.
It is made to project in the movement path of 0, and the dew condensation, wetness, dust, etc. on the ejection surface of the IJC 120 are wiped off as the IJC 120 moves.

The present invention is particularly effective in an ink jet recording head and a recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording methods.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. , It is effective because it generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter and causes film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, resulting in the formation of bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis. Is. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, further excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angle liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670, which discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification provides the length. The present invention can exert the above-mentioned effects more effectively, although it may have a configuration that satisfies the above requirement or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided with an ink tank is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection other than recording It is also effective to perform stable recording.

Further, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only the mainstream color such as black is recorded but also the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of them may be combined. The present invention is also extremely effective for a device provided with at least one of full colors by color mixing.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned. In the inkjet method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form.

In addition, the temperature rise due to the thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet. May be 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, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to a recording apparatus provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor or a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, May take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the driving conditions of the ink jet recording head can be determined by a relatively simple method, and the measurement of the ejection start voltage or the ejection start pulse width can be omitted in the print inspection process. Moreover, it is possible to accurately and accurately determine the ejection start voltage or the ejection start pulse width. Therefore, the cost required for the inspection process of the inkjet recording head can be reduced. That is, it is possible to provide an inexpensive inkjet recording head, which in turn can reduce the price of the inkjet recording device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a print inspection device for an inkjet recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the shape of an electrothermal converter, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a XX plan view of (a).

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a resistance value of a heating resistor of an inkjet recording head and an ejection start voltage.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a protective film thickness of an inkjet recording head and a discharge start voltage.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an ink jet recording head of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a second part of the ink jet recording head of the second embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the structural example of the electrothermal converter of this, and a temperature sensor.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the surface temperatures of the first electrothermal converter 32 and the second electrothermal converter 38 of the inkjet recording head during and after energization.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with an inkjet recording head used in each example.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an inkjet recording head.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the inkjet recording head.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of driving timing of an inkjet recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 inkjet recording head 12a resistance data storage device 12b film thickness data storage device 13 arithmetic unit 14 drive condition setting device 15 drive control device 16 head drive power supply 32 first electrothermal converter 38 second electrothermal converter 39 temperature sensor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method for inspecting an inkjet recording head comprising a plurality of electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets and a drive element for controlling energization of the electrothermal converters according to a drive signal. In the above, based on the resistance value data of each electrothermal converter obtained during the manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head and the film thickness data of the protective film forming the electrothermal converter, the drive voltage of the inkjet recording head Alternatively, a method for inspecting an inkjet recording head is performed, in which a drive pulse width is determined and the inkjet recording head is driven with the determined drive voltage or drive pulse width to perform a print inspection of the inkjet recording head. 2. An apparatus for inspecting an ink jet recording head, comprising a plurality of electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets and a drive element for controlling energization of the electrothermal converters according to a drive signal. In the storage device for storing the resistance value data of each electrothermal converter obtained during the manufacturing process of the inkjet recording head and the film thickness data of the protective film constituting the electrothermal converter, and the resistance data thereof. And a drive condition determining device that determines a drive voltage or a drive pulse width of the inkjet recording head based on the film thickness data, and a drive control device that performs a print inspection of the inkjet recording head with the determined drive voltage or the drive pulse width. An apparatus for inspecting an inkjet recording head, comprising: 3. In an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets from an ejection port by utilizing thermal energy, a plurality of first electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets, and a drive signal. A drive element for controlling energization of the first electrothermal converter according to the first electrothermal converter, a second electrothermal converter for inspecting the same configuration and shape as the first electrothermal converter, and a second electrothermal converter according to the drive signal. An ink jet recording head comprising: a driving element for controlling energization of the second electrothermal converter and a temperature sensor for measuring a surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 3, wherein the temperature sensor is formed of an Al thin film. 5. The ink jet recording head according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of discharge ports are provided over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium, which is a full line type. 6. A plurality of first electrothermal converters for generating thermal energy for forming recording droplets and a drive element for controlling energization of the first electrothermal converters in accordance with a drive signal, further comprising: An inkjet recording provided with a second electrothermal converter for inspecting the same configuration and shape as the first electrothermal converter, and a temperature sensor for measuring the surface temperature of the second electrothermal converter. A method for inspecting a head, comprising: measuring a surface temperature of a second electrothermal converter during energization, determining a driving voltage or a driving pulse width of the inkjet recording head based on the measured data, and determining the determined driving voltage or A method for inspecting an inkjet recording head, comprising performing a print inspection of the inkjet recording head by performing print driving of the inkjet recording head with a drive pulse width.