JPH08187854A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a recorder which can deal with the increase in the number of the nozzles of a recording head without increasing the number of control lines necessary to drive the head and without increasing the cost of the head of an ink jet type. CONSTITUTION: A printer records the image data input from an external unit by an ink jet head 104 in which a plurality of heaters 306 are arranged in a predetermined direction. The recorder comprises a carriage 103 for placing a recording head 104 to convey the head 104 in a predetermined direction, a main board 101 for inputting the data from the external unit and controlling the drive of the head by the carriage based on the data, a flexible cable 102 for electrically connecting the carriage 103 to the board 101, and control circuits 301 to 305 provided on the carriage 103 or the cable 102 to control the recording operation of the head by the heaters 306.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device such as a printer, and more particularly to a recording device for recording image data on a recording medium by a disposable ink jet recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional recording apparatus equipped with a recording head of a disposable type and an ink jet recording system, in order to improve throughput (processing efficiency), the number of ink nozzles of the ink jet head is increased to obtain a printable width in one scan. There is a configuration in which the temperature and characteristics of the head can be read by the recording apparatus main body side in order to increase or improve the printing quality.

[0003]

However, the conventional recording apparatus configured as described above has the following problems. (1) The number of control lines required to drive the inkjet head increases, and the number of poles of the flexible cable connecting the main board on the main body side to the carriage increases. (2) The number of control lines can be reduced by transmitting data serially, but in this case, a serial-parallel conversion circuit must be provided in the inkjet head, which increases the cost of the disposable head.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to increase the number of control lines necessary for driving the print head and to reduce the cost of the ink jet print head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can cope with an increase in the number of nozzles of a recording head without increasing the number.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a recording apparatus of the present invention has the following constitution. That is, a recording apparatus for recording image data input from an external device on a recording medium by a recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, the recording head is mounted, and the recording head is conveyed in a predetermined direction. And a conveying means for inputting the image data from an external device,
First control means for controlling the drive of the recording head by the transport means based on the image data, connection means for electrically connecting the transport means and the first control means, and the transport means or the connection means. A second control unit that is provided and controls the recording operation of the recording head by the plurality of recording elements.

Also preferably, the second control means is a conversion circuit for converting serial data corresponding to the image data output from the first control means into parallel data, and the conversion circuit is converted into the parallel data. The image data is output to the recording head via a plurality of electric conductors, and a drive circuit that outputs a control signal for driving the plurality of recording elements, and a sensor provided in the recording head. An output circuit for outputting predetermined data of the recording head or data specific to the recording head to the first control means via the connection means.

Further, preferably, the predetermined data of the recording head or the data specific to the recording head is temperature data of the recording head, data indicating printing characteristics of the recording head, and data indicating the type of the recording head. is there. Also,
Preferably, the recording head is an inkjet recording head that records by ejecting ink.

Further, preferably, 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 given to the ink. Further, preferably, the transporting device can mount a disposable recording head.

[0009]

As described above, since the recording apparatus according to the present invention is configured, the conveying means for conveying the recording head in the predetermined direction, and the image data input from the external device,
First control means for controlling the drive of the recording head based on the image data, connection means for electrically connecting the transport means and the first control means, and the transport means or the connection means are provided. Second control means for controlling the recording operation of the recording head by the recording element of
It is possible to reduce the number of poles of the connecting means composed of a flexible cable or the like, and it is possible to increase the cost of the flexible cable and reduce restrictions such as spatial arrangement location.

Further, since it is not necessary to provide the recording head with a circuit having a control function for controlling the recording operation by the plurality of recording elements, the cost can be reduced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of an embodiment according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 is a main board including a logic circuit for controlling the operation to be described later, and 102 is a flexible cable connecting the main board 101 and a carriage 103 carrying an inkjet head 104. The carriage 103 has a function of driving the inkjet head based on the data sent from the main board. In the following embodiments, the recording device will be described as a printer device equipped with an inkjet recording head.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a schematic structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 20
Reference numeral 5 denotes a replaceable cartridge in which the recording head H and an ink tank serving as an ink supply source are integrated. The head cartridge 205 includes a holding member 20.
It is fixed on the carriage 206 by means of 2 and can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction along the two shafts 211. The ink ejected from the recording head H is separated from the recording head H by a small distance, and the platen 210
Then, it reaches the recording medium 209 whose recording surface is regulated and forms an image. An ink ejection signal corresponding to the image data is output to the recording head H from a print recording data supply source that is appropriately provided via a cable 207 and a terminal coupled to the cable 207. One or a plurality of head cartridges (two in FIG. 2 are used depending on the ink color used for printing and recording an image).
Ink can be provided. Reference numeral 208 is a pulse motor for scanning the carriage 206 along the shaft 211, and 203 is a wire for transmitting the driving force of the motor 208 to the carriage. Further, 201 is a feed motor that is coupled to the platen roller 210 to convey the recording medium 209, and 204 is a carriage 206.
HP (home position) sensor that detects the position of the
Reference numeral 12 denotes a detachable recording paper automatic paper feeder.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit configuration when the recording apparatus of this embodiment is connected. In FIG. 3, illustrated at 101 to 104
Is a flexible cable that connects the main board, the flexible cable, and the carriage 103 described in FIG. Also,
In this embodiment, the head drive power supply VH and the logic circuit drive power supply V
There are only five control signals other than cc and ground G.
That is, it has five control signal lines, each of which is a data line DATA for transmitting and receiving serial data, a clock signal line CLK,
A read / write control line R / W, a load signal line LOAD for temporarily loading the value in the shift register when reading data from the temperature sensor of the head, and a heat control line HEAT for giving heat timing. Reference numeral 301 is an input / output buffer whose input / output is switched by a read / write control line, 302 is a shift register having a load function, 30
Reference numeral 4 denotes an AND circuit that creates a heat pulse based on the print data and the heat signal transferred to the shift register 302.
05 is an inkjet head 104 by the output of 304
It is a transistor that applies a drive current to the heater 306 inside. A sensor 303 in the head is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 303 on the carriage and connected to the shift register 302.

In the above circuit configuration, when performing normal printing, the data line is set to the write state and the print data is transmitted together with the clock. In order to set the writing state, the read / write control line is set to "H (HIG
H) ”. When the data for all nozzles of the inkjet head have been transferred to the shift register 302, a heat signal is added to eject ink.

When data on the head side is obtained, the read / write control line is set to "L (LOW)" to bring the data line into the read state. The analog output sensor 307 such as temperature is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 303. Also, an ID circuit 308 for outputting digital ID data for identifying the type of head.
Is directly connected to the shift register 302, and a load signal is applied to read the specific bit of the shift register 302. Data on the head side can be obtained by adding a clock signal in this state.

The circuit of this embodiment can also be constructed by providing a substrate on the carriage. It can also be provided on the flexible cable. Further, it may be arranged so as to intervene both on the board on the carriage and on the flexible cable. Further, it can be detachably mounted on the head in a card type. With the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the number of poles of the flexible cable connecting the main board and the carriage. Moreover, since a circuit for data processing is not required in the disposable type head, the cost of the head can be reduced.

[0017]

[Other Embodiments] In the following embodiments, an example of a circuit that enables heat pulse control by a carriage will be described. In the ink jet type recording apparatus, since the ink jet head uses heat to eject the ink, the ejection amount changes depending on the temperature of the head. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the temperature of the head at a specific timing or to predict the head temperature in advance from the print duty and change the heat pulse width. Further, as a result of increasing the number of nozzles of the head, it is necessary to divide the nozzles into some blocks and perform the control so that printing is sequentially performed for each block for the convenience of power supply and the like. To deal with these problems, heat control lines and block-divided signal lines have been added in the past. However, the increase in the number of poles increases the cost of the flexible cable and increases the restrictions on the spatial location, etc., and it is necessary to improve the functionality of the disposable head in order to support the above control. It caused an increase in cost.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a structure for realizing the above-mentioned function is realized without increasing the number of poles of the flexible cable and increasing the cost of the disposable head. FIG. 4 shows a circuit configuration of another embodiment according to the present invention. The circuit configuration in the embodiment of FIG. 4 is obtained by adding 401 to 408 described below in addition to the circuit configuration of FIG. That is, in the carriage shown in FIG. 4, a shift register 401 that stores drive conditions, a selector 402 that selects control data of a corresponding nozzle block from the shift register 401, and control data selected by the selector 402 and the counter 406 match. Comparator 40 for detecting
Reference numerals 3 and 404 are JK flip-flops that are set by timing given by the counter 407 and reset by the output of the comparator 403, and 408 is a counter 405 for the heat signal generated by the JK flip-flop 408.
Selector 409 for giving to the nozzle block selected by
Is a clock for operating the counter 405.

Next, the operation of this printer will be described. When the print data is transmitted from the main board to the carriage, the data regarding the head drive is also transmitted at the same time. Each bit of the transmitted data is assigned to the control data regarding the heat width of the specific nozzle or the specific nozzle block. Data relating to the heating width of the nozzle or nozzle block that heats during driving is selected by the selector 402 from the shift register 401. The JK flip-flop 404 that generates the heat signal is set by the counter 407 that gives the timing of heat, and the selector 40
It is cleared by the coincidence signal between the data selected by 2 and the counter 406. That is, a heat signal having a set width is created. This signal is counter 405
Is sent to a specific nozzle or a specific nozzle block. The control of the count start of the counters 405 to 407 is
The heat control signal may be used.

With the above configuration, the heat pulse width is changed as necessary without increasing the number of poles of the flexible cable and the cost of the disposable head, and the head nozzle is divided into several blocks and sequentially arranged. It is possible to perform control such as printing. The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single 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.

The present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly 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.

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 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 structure of the recording head, in addition to the combination structure (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) of the ejection port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting surface is also provided. A configuration using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which is arranged in a bending region, is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 5-5 discloses a configuration in which a common slot for a plurality of electrothermal converters is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converters.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-123670 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 5 (1993) -58
The configuration may be based on Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-138461.

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, the length can be increased by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, the ink is integrated into the replaceable chip-type recording head, or the recording head itself, which can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can supply ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. A cartridge-type recording head provided with a 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 constitution 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 an ink jet system may be used. Generally, the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within the range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Anything can be used.

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, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to one provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further transmission / reception It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a function.

[0029]

As described above, since the recording apparatus of the present invention is configured, the conveying means for conveying the recording head in the predetermined direction and the image data are input from the external device, and based on the image data. First control means for controlling driving of the recording head, connecting means for electrically connecting the conveying means and the first controlling means, and a recording head provided with the conveying means or the connecting means and comprising a plurality of recording elements By providing the second control means for controlling the recording operation of the flexible cable, it is possible to reduce the number of poles of the connecting means composed of the flexible cable or the like, increase the cost of the flexible cable, and the spatial arrangement location. The restrictions can be reduced.

Further, since it is not necessary to provide the recording head with a circuit having a control function for controlling the recording operation by the plurality of recording elements, the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic circuit configuration of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a serial printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overall circuit connection state including a circuit configuration of a carriage of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an overall circuit connection state including a circuit configuration of a carriage of another embodiment according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 ... Main substrate 102 ... Flexible cable 103 ... Carriage 104 ... Inkjet recording head 301 ... Input / output buffer 302 ... Shift register 401 ... Shift register 402 ... Selector 403 ... Comparator 404 ... Flip-flop

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording image data input from an external device on a recording medium by a recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, the recording head being mounted, and the recording head having a predetermined size. Conveying means for conveying in the direction, first control means for inputting the image data from an external device, and controlling the drive of the recording head by the conveying means based on the image data, the conveying means, and the first control And a second control unit which is provided in the carrying unit or the connection unit and which controls the recording operation of the recording head by the plurality of recording elements. Recording device. 2. The conversion circuit for converting serial data corresponding to the image data output from the first control unit into parallel data, and the image data converted into the parallel data. And a drive circuit that outputs a control signal for driving the plurality of recording elements to the recording head via a plurality of electric conductors, and the recording head output from a sensor provided in the recording head. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an output circuit that outputs the predetermined data or the data specific to the recording head to the first control unit via the connection unit. 3. The predetermined data of the recording head or data specific to the recording head is temperature data of the recording head, data indicating printing characteristics of the recording head, and data indicating the type of the recording head. Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The recording device according to 1. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is an inkjet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink. 5. The recording head is a recording head which ejects 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. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transporting unit can mount a disposable recording head.