JPH08127134A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To accurately count the number of recording data so as to follow high speed recording operation. CONSTITUTION: In a recording head having 256 heaters E1-H256, only the number of data inputted through a signal wire SD2 and performing the emission of ink by the heating of the even number-th heaters H2, H4,... H256 among the data inputted to two 128-bit shift registers 403,404 through signal lines (SD1, SD2) according to clock signals (SCK1, SCK2) is counted by a counter 405.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints according to an inkjet method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ink-jet recording apparatus, counting the number of driving data for ink ejection from a recording head prevents the clogging of the ejection port of the recording head or causes bubbles generated in the recording head. To determine when suction recovery should be performed to remove
It is an essential technique for controlling the temperature rise in the print head and for detecting the remaining amount of ink in an ink tank that supplies ink to the print head. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,435 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,528 disclose a technique of counting the number of drive data for ejection of a recording head to control temperature and ejection. Also, as shown in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-19467,
There is a device that counts the number of drive data for ink ejection from the recording head to detect the ink remaining amount in the ink tank.

In recent years, the number of ink ejection ports of the recording head has been increasing, for example, from 64 to 128, and the ink ejection frequency thereof has been increasing from 5 KHz to 10 KHz. Further, the recording density of the recording head tends to be high resolution, such as from 300 dpi to 600 dpi.

On the other hand, in such a high-definition recording head, a so-called multi-droplet technique is also practical in which the ink ejection amount per recording operation is reduced and a plurality of ink droplets are ejected to one pixel to form an image. Is about to be transformed. In order to put this technology into practical use, the number of drive data for ink ejection from the recording head, which must be counted within a certain period of time, is increased to maintain the recording operation speed at a high speed. It is required to change the data transfer method to the parallel transfer from the serial transfer. Further, counting the number of drive data for ink ejection from the print head under such conditions requires a high-speed counting operation while maintaining a certain level of counting accuracy.

By the way, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-31352, there is a method of counting the number of driving data for ink ejection from the recording head at the expense of its accuracy. In particular,
It cannot be used to control or predict the temperature inside the printhead.

[0006]

However, when the data transfer method to the recording head is changed from serial transfer to parallel transfer and all drive data is attempted to be counted at high speed by the data lines of parallel transfer, all the data lines are transferred. Must be equipped with a counter, and
Since the counter data must be added at high speed in all of them, there is a problem that the circuit configuration becomes large.

In the current circuit technology, if it is not necessary to consider the counting speed, it is possible to count the number of data by mounting a large number of counters. Taking into consideration, in order to add the data used for ink ejection from the multiple nozzles of the print head at high speed, special circuit technology must be introduced, which increases the system cost. Cause problems.

Further, in consideration of the conventional monochrome ink jet recording apparatus and the color ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the four recording heads which are currently penetrating into the market, the demand for high speed becomes more severe. The problem of increasing the size of the circuit structure becomes more serious.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example. For example, while satisfying the required count accuracy in the temperature control of the recording head, the suction recovery operation, the remaining ink amount detection, etc., a simple circuit configuration can be performed at high speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of counting the number of drive data for ink ejection from a recording head.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following constitution.

That is, in a recording apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, a recording head having a plurality of ejection openings and ejecting ink from the plurality of ejection openings, and the recording head are provided. Scanning means for scanning for recording an image, conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction by the scanning means, input means for inputting print data from the outside, and input by the input means A recording apparatus is provided, which has a driving unit that drives the recording head based on the recorded recording data and a counting unit that counts a part of the recording data.

[0012]

With the above construction, the present invention operates so as to count a part of the print data that causes ink ejection from the print head.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K ejecting Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) inks are recorded at intervals of 1/300 inch. Paper 2 conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as sub-scanning direction)
For example, 256 ejection ports arranged in two rows are provided, and a heater for generating thermal energy used for ejecting ink is provided in an ink path communicating with each ejection port. The heater generates heat in response to an electric pulse applied according to the drive data, which causes film boiling in the ink, and the ink droplets are ejected from the ejection port as bubbles are generated by the film boiling. . In this embodiment, the heater driving frequency, that is, the ink ejection frequency is 10 KHz. Further, reference numeral 1 is a general term for print heads used when referring to the print heads 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K as a whole.

The carriage 4 has the recording head 1 mounted thereon, and a part of the carriage 4 is guided in the B direction (hereinafter referred to as the main scanning direction) while being guided by two slidably engaged guide shafts 5A and 5B. Moving. It should be noted that the movement of the carriage 4 is carried out, for example, on a part of the carriage 4 by the pulleys 9A and 9B.
The wire 8 stretched by the
Is performed by the rotation of the motor 102 via the pulley 9A.

The inks supplied to the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K are stored in ink cartridges (not shown) of the respective colors provided in the carriage 4. Then, this ink is supplied to the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K via an ink supply path (not shown). The flexible cables 7C, 7M, 7Y and 7K are connected to the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K, respectively.
As a result, the recording head drive circuit (head driver)
The drive signal and the control signal based on the recording data from the control board 15 can be transmitted.

The paper feed rollers 3A and 3B are provided such that their longitudinal directions are parallel to the guide shafts 5A and 5B, and rotate in response to the drive of the paper feed motor 104 to convey the recording paper 2 as a recording medium. . Similar paper feed rollers 6A and 6B are provided below the paper feed rollers 3A and 3B, and rotate in accordance with the conveyance of the recording paper 2, and the paper feed rollers 3A and 3B are rotated.
It plays a role of flattening the recording surface of the recording paper 2 with B.

Reference numeral 5016 denotes recording heads 1Y, 1M,
Cap member 5022 for capping the front surfaces of 1C and 1K
A member for supporting Y, 5022M, 5022C, 5022K, and 5015 is a suction device for sucking the inside of the cap,
The recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C, through the opening in the cap,
Perform suction recovery of 1K.

In the above structure, the recording heads 1Y, 1
M, 1C and 1K are attached to the recording paper 2 as the carriage 4 moves.
Ink is ejected onto each recording surface, that is, a portion facing the ink ejection port of the recording head 1 to perform recording. This recording is performed when the recording head 1 moves in the PT direction,
When the recording head 1 moves in the CR direction, the recording paper 2 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction.

Further, this ink jet recording apparatus receives recording data from the host 200 and performs recording.

FIG. 2 shows one of the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of two recording heads as seen from the direction of an ink ejection port. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 1001 to 1256 denote ink ejection ports, and the ink ejection ports of the recording head are configured by two columns of odd numbers and even columns of these reference numbers (hereinafter referred to as ejection numbers). There is a distance of 8/300 inches between each row. In addition, the interval between the ejection openings in each row is 1/300 inch, and the ejection openings in both rows are arranged in a staggered pattern according to the ejection numbers. That is, the resolution of the recording head is 1/600 inch in the sub-scanning direction.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control board 15 of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

The main controller 100 is a CPU, RA
It is composed of M, ROM, etc., and receives the character code, the image data, etc. sent from the host 200 and once stores them in the frame memory 100M. The main controller 100 converts the character code, image data, etc. stored in the frame memory 100M into print signals of each color component, and uses this as drive data for the print heads in correspondence with each scan of the print heads.
The data is stored in the drive data RAM 110M via 10. The driver controller 110 is the main controller 100
The drive data stored in the drive data RAM 110M is read in accordance with the control signal from the head driver 114 by referring to the ejection number and the scanning number (the scanning number in the sub-scanning direction from a certain starting point in the recording operation). And control the timing of the drive. In addition, from the head driver 114 to the recording heads 1Y, 1M, 1C,
A part of the data signal line (details will be described later) connected to 1K is input to the counters 405Y, 405M, 405C, and 405K, and the number of data supplied to the recording head for performing the recording operation is counted.

Here, the counted value is fed back to the main controller 100 and used for suction recovery control executed by the main controller 100, estimation of the remaining ink amount, estimation of the temperature in the print head, and the like.

Therefore, the higher the accuracy of the count value measurement, the more desirable suction recovery is performed, the more accurate the estimation of the remaining ink amount, and the more accurate the estimation of the temperature inside the print head. Thus, it becomes possible to perform desirable print head drive control according to the estimated temperature.

With the above configuration, the main controller 1
00 controls the recording operation of the recording head via the driver controller 110, the motor driver 104D, and the motor driver 102D. As a result, characters, images, etc. corresponding to the image data are recorded on the recording paper 2.

Next, the structure of the recording head used in the above-described ink jet recording apparatus will be described. Since the print heads 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K have the same configuration and the inks used are different, only the print heads using one color ink will be described below.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit configuration of the recording head for heating the ejection port by using the drive data transferred from the recording device in order to eject the ink from each ejection port of the recording head shown in FIG. FIG. This circuit can count the number of ink ejections for each ejection port of the recording head.

In FIG. 4, H1 to H256 are heaters for generating thermal energy corresponding to the discharge ports 1001 to 1256 shown in FIG. 2, and tr1 to tr256 correspond to the heaters H1 to H256. It is a transistor for driving the heater. Both 401 and 402 are 128
The bit latch circuit outputs LT drive data for each heater.
Latch signal of 1 and LT2. Also, 403,
Reference numeral 404 is a 128-bit shift register, and in synchronization with the clock signals of SCK1 and SCK2, drive data for each heater is transferred through the signal lines of SD1 and SD2, respectively. A counter 405 counts the ejection data by the counter 405.

The counter 405 exists outside the recording head and is the same as the counters 405Y, 405M, 405C and 405K on the control board 15 of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

Now, in the circuit of the recording head shown in FIG.
Along with the operation of the carriage 4, a clock signal (S
Signal lines (SD1, SD) in synchronization with CK1, SCK2)
Data corresponding to each heater transferred via 2) is input. That is, the odd-numbered heaters H1, H3, ..., H255 have 12 clocks according to the clock signal SCK1.
The 8-bit data is also H2, H4, ..., H256.
128-bit data is serially transferred to the even-numbered heaters in accordance with the clock signal SCK2. Next, 128-bit data is transferred to the respective shift registers 403 and 404, and the clock signal (S
When the supply of (CK1, SCK2) is stopped, the signals of the latch signals (LT1, LT2) are output to the recording head, and the data transferred up to that point is latched by the 128-bit latch circuits 401, 402. As a result, the data corresponding to each heater has a 128-bit latch circuit 40.
That is, it was held at 1, 402.

Next, strobe signals (ENB1, ENB
2) is output to the print head and a signal corresponding to the data held in the 128-bit latch circuits 401 and 402 is supplied to each of the transistors tr1 to tr256, each heater is heated based on the data, and ink is ejected from each ejection port. Is discharged. In addition, strobe signals (ENB1, ENB
2) is supplied and ink is ejected, at the same time, data relating to the next ink ejection operation is supplied with the clock signal (S
CK1, SCK2) and transferred to the 128-bit shift registers 403, 404. After that, similarly, the procedure of the ink ejection operation is repeated to form an image on the recording paper.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, the strobe signal (ENB1,
Since only one signal line is shown for each of ENB2), in this example, the odd numbered heaters H1, H3, ..., H255 and the even numbered heaters H2, H4 ,. Although it is heated, it is needless to say that the circuit of the recording head may be configured to have a plurality of these signal lines, which makes it possible to shift the timing of ink ejection from each heater.

Now, the counter 405 is connected only to the signal line SD2, and in this embodiment, H2, H4, ..., H2.
Only the data of the ink ejection ports corresponding to the even numbered heaters of 56 are counted, that is, only the data of half the ejection ports of the recording head are counted. As a result, the maximum count number of the counter 405 may be half the total number of ejection ports.

Here, the recording density that can be recorded by the recording head and the resolution characteristics of the image formed by the data transmitted from the host 200 will be considered.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print head of this embodiment is capable of printing at a print density of 600 dpi in the sub-scanning direction, but in an application on the host side that generates characters and image data, it has a resolution of 300 dpi. Since data is generated in most cases, it is sufficient for the print head of this embodiment to count only data relating to ink ejection ports corresponding to even-numbered heaters H2, H4, ..., H256 as described above. , That number can be regarded as the total number of ejections. In addition, even if the recording head of the present embodiment utilizes the high-density recording operation capability of 600 dpi, for example, smoothing processing is performed on character data or the like and recording is performed as image data having a resolution of 600 dpi. The counting error is insignificant,
It does not affect various processes executed based on the count number.

Further, even when a pseudo intermediate process is applied to the image data to output a high-definition image, the randomness of the recording head ejection ports used is sufficiently secured, and there is a problem in terms of counting accuracy. Absent. Further, when printing is performed using the print head as in the present embodiment, a method called multi-pass is often used, that is, one row of pixels is formed in the main scanning direction by a plurality of ejection ports arranged in the sub scanning direction. However, even in such a case, since each ejection data is evenly distributed to all the ejection ports, there is no problem even if only the even ejection ports are focused and counted as in the present embodiment. .

Therefore, according to this embodiment, since it is not necessary to count the number of heater driving data by paying attention to all the ejection ports of the print head, it is possible to count a small amount of data with a small number of counters (one). The addition processing between the counters is also unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently follow the recording operation executed at high speed.

The present invention is not limited to the circuit configuration of the recording head shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the configuration is changed to a configuration including two 128-bit shift registers, and two 8 × 16 shifters 503, 50 are provided.
4 may be provided so that parallel data can be input. 5, the same components as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the case of such a configuration, the data from the data signal lines (D0 to D7) is input-shifted 16 times by 8 bits, and a total of 128 bits of data is input. Then, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, all data are latched and used as heater driving data.

By the way, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the counter 405 is connected only to the data signal line (D7) and counts only the data of this data line. That is, data is counted for every eight ink ejection ports corresponding to even-numbered heaters H2, H4, ..., H256.
In this case, there is nothing very good in terms of the accuracy of the count number, but there is no problem in using it for data of the suction recovery control of the printing apparatus.

Therefore, it can be said that the counter capacity of the recording head capable of inputting parallel data having the structure shown in FIG. 5 can be used for a sufficiently high speed recording operation if the purpose of use is limited.

Further, in addition to the data counting method shown in FIG. 5, the data of parallel data signal lines (D0 to D7) in the recording head having a structure of 8 × 16 shifter as shown in FIG. You may count using a counter and a selector as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, 601 is a 3-bit counter that counts with a clock signal (CK), and 602 is a 3-bit counter 601.
It is an 8-bit selector that selects one of the data signal lines (D0 to D7) according to the output signal from and is connected to the counter 405.

In FIG. 6, for example, a clock signal (C
The strobe signal (EN) shown in this embodiment is applied to the line K).
If the signal of B1 or ENB2) is used,
The 3-bit counter 601 is counted each time ink is ejected from all of the ink ejection ports, and the data signal line connected to the counter 405 is sequentially changed from D0 to D7 at each count. That is, the data corresponding to every eight ejection ports of the 256 ejection ports is sequentially selected every movement of one pixel in the main scanning direction of the recording head, and the data is counted. 1 / of the whole area of the image
16 can be counted. As a result, the areas of the image data for which the data count is performed are uniformly distributed without being biased, and the count data count is at least more accurate.

Needless to say, the count number of various patterns can be detected by variously changing the selection signal input to the 8-bit selector. For example, when the 3-bit counter 601 randomly changes its output, the pixels to be counted are also random. It is also possible to

The present invention is provided with a means (eg, electrothermal converter or laser light) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, especially in the ink jet recording system, and the thermal energy The printing apparatus of the type that causes a change in the state of ink has been described. According to such a method, the recording density is increased,
High definition can be achieved.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
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 the liquid crystal is held, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding film boiling. Since the electrothermal converter is caused to generate heat energy to cause film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to the drive signal in a one-to-one relationship can be formed. It is valid. 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 in a pulse shape, because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) 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, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled 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 configurations in which the heat-acting surface is arranged in a bending region. In addition, for multiple electrothermal converters,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670, which discloses a structure in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-63, which discloses a structure in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is associated with the discharge portion. A configuration based on Japanese Patent No. 138461 may be used.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition, by being attached to 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. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be 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 effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. . Specific examples thereof include capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, or one that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or In the inkjet method, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It is sufficient that the ink is liquid.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy from being used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent the ink from evaporating, an ink that solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, by applying heat energy, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is retained as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. 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 to the above, the recording apparatus according to the present invention may be provided not only as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer but also integrally or separately, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, etc. It may take the form of a facsimile machine having functions.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention, since a part of the print data that causes ink ejection from the print head is counted, it is possible to perform a high-speed printing operation, that is, to process a large amount of print data per unit time. Therefore, there is an effect that an accurate count can be performed by following the above, and because only a part of the recording data is counted, the circuit configuration can be simplified. As a result, there is an advantage that the temperature control of the recording head and the remaining ink amount can be accurately estimated, and the suction recovery operation can be performed at a desired timing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus that is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement of ejection ports of a recording head of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control board 15 of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a logical circuit configuration of a recording head.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the logical circuit configuration of the recording head.

6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a circuit that counts heater drive data of the recording head shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1K Black ink recording head 1C Cyan recording ink head 1M Magenta recording ink head 1Y Yellow ink recording head 2 Recording paper 4 Carriage 114 Head driver 401, 402 128-bit latch circuit 403, 404 128-bit shift register 405 Counter 503, 504 8 × 16 Shifter 601 3-bit counter 602 8-bit selector

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takehiko Kasamatsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink to a recording medium, comprising: a recording head having a plurality of ejection openings, and ejecting ink from the plurality of ejection openings; Scanning means for scanning for recording an image, conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the scanning means, input means for inputting print data from the outside, and input by the input means A recording apparatus comprising: a driving unit that drives the recording head based on the recorded recording data; and a counting unit that counts a part of the recording data. 2. The recording according to claim 1, wherein the counting unit counts the number of pieces of recording data necessary for ejecting ink from half the ejection ports of the plurality of ejection ports. apparatus. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the half of the ejection ports are odd-numbered or even-numbered ejection ports of the recording head. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising suction recovery control means for controlling suction recovery of the recording head ejection openings based on the count value counted by the counting means. 5. A drive control means for estimating the internal temperature of the recording head based on the count value counted by the counting means, and controlling the drive means in accordance with the estimated internal temperature. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ink remaining amount estimation unit that estimates the remaining amount of ink in the recording head based on the count value counted by the counting unit. . 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is an ink jet recording head that ejects ink to perform recording. 8. The recording head is a recording head for ejecting ink by utilizing thermal energy, and is provided with a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Item 2. The recording device according to item 1. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit includes a first transfer unit that serially transfers print data to the print head. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit includes a second transfer unit that transfers print data in parallel to the print head. 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the counting unit counts only a part of a data line that transfers the parallel data. 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a part of each data line to be counted by the counting unit is changed every predetermined recording operation.